Franchising plays a pivotal role in sustainable economic development through employment creation, improving the standards of living and increasing the growth of entrepreneurship worldwide. However, the volatile business environment in Zimbabwe has a negative impact on the growth of franchising in the fast food industry. The aim of the study was to uncover the challenges of franchising in a volatile business environment in Zimbabwe. The study focused on an under studied area of franchising in the fast food industry of Zimbabwe. The study is important, as franchising can be used as a tool for economic growth and the study breaks a new ground, as no similar studies have been conducted to identify the challenges faced by franchise entrepreneurs in a volatile business environment. Ten qualitative interviews were successfully conducted with franchise entrepreneurs using face to face semi structured interviews as data collection method and thematic coding was used to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study indicate that franchise entrepreneurs face difficulties in obtaining operating licences from the Harare’s City Municipal Authorities and registering their businesses. Electricity power cuts severely affect the operations of fast food businesses. The majority of the entrepreneurs do not have adequate capital to expand and grow their businesses and they fail to meet lending requirements from the financial institutions, top-most among them being the provision of collateral security accompanied by rigid application procedures for funding. Recommendations made include that the government must play an active role in promoting franchising by setting up a vibrant franchise board and speeding up the business registration process.

The study investigated the perceived barriers to the development of small, medium and microenterprises (SMMEs) operating in the South African small business sector. A quantitative orientation was used in carrying out the study through self-administered questionnaires and a descriptive quantitative method of analysis was applied. The research population consisted of entrepreneurs within the Thulamela Municipality in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. A purposive sample of seventy-five SMME owners and managers participated in this study (males = 73%, n = 55; females = 27%, n = 20 and, age range 18-55 years). The study seeks to add on the narrow body of literature concerning barriers faced by small, medium and microenterprises within the small business sector by revealing how SMMEs in South Africa are stalled from developing into successful enterprises as a result of some major barriers affecting the small business sector. The study revealed that, indeed, SMMEs in Thulamela Municipality in the Limpopo Province of South Africa are faced with various barriers affecting their development. Five significant barriers were identified, namely, lack of finance, access to market, out-dated equipment and technology, poor infrastructure and lack of training. The study recommends on the action plan that is required for SMMEs to increase their efficiency and sustaining themselves against possible barriers thereby helping entrepreneurs to exploit the full potential of the SMME sector. Keywords: barriers, development, SMMEs, entrepreneurs, Thulamela municipality, South Africa. JEL Classification: L26, P2

Microfranchising is one of the new innovative business concepts that has gained traction in the past few years, and which could provide a solution to the challenges faced by micro- entrepreneurs and stimulate the growth of entrepreneurship. Microfranchising has therefore, emerged as a potential strategy meant to rapidly scale-up entrepreneurship behaviour within the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). However, despite microfranchising being singled out as a panacea for economic growth globally, very little is known about the microfranchising business concept in South Africa. Resultantly, the latter is ignored from entrepreneurship discussion and discourse at both academic and policy levels. To address this gap, the study assessed microfranchising practices in South Africa, to profile the characteristics of microfranchise businesses in South Africa. The study used the interpretivism research paradigm to achieve the study objectives. Primary and secondary data were employed to collect data on the microfranchising practices in South Africa. Five in-depth interviews were successfully conducted with microfranchisees, while secondary data (microfranchisees’ and microfranchisors’ success stories) was employed to collect data on the former and current practices of microfranchising in South Africa. The collected data was analysed using the ATLAS.ti. The study results show that the microfranchise business exhibits traits of BoP markets, centralised inventory buying, comprehensive training of microfranchisees, decentralised inventory buying, job creation, master microfranchisee, sales orientation, self-reliance of the business, standardisation and adaptation.

Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) possess attributes akin to entrepreneurship that make them indispensable tools for economic growth and development. While SMMEs have a direct impact on economic growth in advanced economies, these enterprises have a high failure rate due to a variety of reasons, especially during the start-up and growth phases. Government support schemes have been availed to SMMEs to assist them to survive the vulnerable phases of their existence. This study investigates the role of government support services towards the development and growth of SMMEs in South Africa. The quantitative research design used the survey method to collect data from a sample of one hundred (100) SMMEs in Thohoyandou, South Africa. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data, and presentation used descriptive analysis. The main study revealed that despite the government support schemes and initiatives, the failure rate of SMMEs remains high. The major factors affecting the uptake of government support schemes and initiatives included the lack of information and access to the financial assistance offered to most SMMEs through the government schemes. Despite the support schemes and initiatives, further challenges include the proliferating myriad of rules and regulations in the regulatory environment curtailing the operations and survival of SMMEs. Study findings indicated that despite the existence of the growth and development-oriented government support schemes, most SMMEs are unaware of their existence while other enterprises find them ineffective. The main conclusions point to the information deficit and needs analysis that would tailor-make and accommodate the specific requirements of different enterprises.

No abstract