Ensuring that small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs) were included in the mainstream economy had to form part of the “radical economic transformation” targeted by the current administration, Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the inaugural National SMME Policy Colloquium, in Sandton, she emphasised that small business development was key to unlocking economic opportunities and job creation.

“If we do not advance the development of SMMEs, we might [in future] find ourselves in a worse [economic] situation than now,” the Minister said.

Zulu noted that, to address the country’s current economic problems, a radical policy shift was required to enable investment into SMMEs as a key driver of economic growth.

“Growth will come from practical policies,” she noted, adding that it was important to ensure that those policies were implemented.

Businessperson Danisa Baloyi told delegates at the colloquium that, for government to achieve its 5% a year growth target, as set out in the National Development Plan, there would have to be a focus on the aggressive development of SMMEs.

She described small businesses as central to South Africa’s economic development but stressed that SMME development was lagging behind in the battle for transformation.

“We need to make sure that SMMEs play a role in every economic agenda of the country,” Baloyi commented, stating that government interventions were needed to ensure that SMMEs were protected and developed.

She added that SMME development had to be funded properly, which included ensuring that these enterprises were included in government plans and budgets from the start, as opposed to only being thought of later.

Baloyi believed procurement could unlock significant opportunities for small business if it was properly implemented.

Also speaking at the colloquium, Tedaka executive chairperson Teddy Daka said procurement legislation had to be reformed to ensure the State procured some goods and services from small businesses.

“The biggest challenge SMMEs face is access to markets [for their products],” he said, stating that, therefore, procurement laws were needed to reserve certain business for SMMEs.