Economic diversification and entrepreneurship
http://hdl.handle.net/10311/450
2024-03-28T11:32:15ZProactive marketing and financial management for Small and Medium Enterprises
http://hdl.handle.net/10311/191
Proactive marketing and financial management for Small and Medium Enterprises
Temtime, Z.T.; Pansiri, J.
Although the discovery of diamond has propelled Botswana from one of the poorest countries in 1966 to a middle-income developing nation, the country still faces the problems of economic diversification, employment creation, income generation and poverty alleviation. The main strategy to achieve these goals has been the promotion of entrepreneurship and small business development. In spite of the concerted efforts made to promote the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the small business failure is increasing at an alarming rate. This paper investigates the perceived impacts of marketing and finance on the development of SMEs in Botswana. 39 marketing and finance related problems were identified, largely from the small business literature, and the respondents were asked to rate the impact of these problems using a five-point scale. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation produced four critical factors (ie marketing actions, customer relationship, investment analysis and working capital management). These factors were also found to have a statistically significant relationship with firm specific demographic variables showing the need for comprehensive and flexible small business assistance programmes. The implications of the findings for policy makers, practitioners and researchers are also presented.
2006-05-01T00:00:00ZTowards small business problem classification: a conceptual model
http://hdl.handle.net/10311/190
Towards small business problem classification: a conceptual model
Temtime, ZT
Today's business environment is turbulent and requires firms, small or large, to be proactive and innovative rather than reactive and receptive if they are to survive and grow in it. Strategic awareness is a mental process of continually evaluating organisational and environmental problems and improvement on how they are identified, recognised, influenced and interpreted and consequently used in making managerial decisions. However, due to the apparent lack of resources and expertise, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) put greater emphasis on short-term survival issues that long-term competitiveness and dynamism. This paper develops and examines a conceptual model of SME problem classification for designing meaningful assistance schemes and entrepreneurial development programmes. ..
2005-11-01T00:00:00ZTowards small business development through business incubation programmes: a review
http://hdl.handle.net/10311/189
Towards small business development through business incubation programmes: a review
Temtime, ZT
The number of new indigenous business start-ups in Botswana has significantly increased during the past two decades. Unfortunately, the majority of them are not successful. Over 70% of new start-ups fail during their first 18 months. The general failure rate is over 80%, and only less than 2% of small businesses expand their businesses. It is noteworthy that this increased failure rate is substantially greater than the increase in the rate of new business creations. It is therefore essential to study the conditions that account for such a substantial rate of business failure and develop appropriate strategies to overcome the problems. The increasing rate of business failure has seen the emergence of several public policy approaches and assistance programs that attempt to improve the success rate of new businesses. One of the most intriguing of these is the Business Incubation Programmes (BIPs)... The purpose of this paper is to analyse why BIPs are critical for the development of all business and entrepreneurship and to put forward some suggestions on how BIPs can effectively be used for a proactive and sustainable entrepreneurial development.
2004-11-01T00:00:00ZA decision tree approach for integrating small business assistance schemes
http://hdl.handle.net/10311/12
A decision tree approach for integrating small business assistance schemes
Temtime, Z.T.; Chinyoka, S.V.; Shunda, J.P.W.
There is a general consensus among public policy makers, academics and
researchers that entrepreneurship is a vital route to economic advancement for both
developed and developing economies. As a result, a host of small business assistance
programs are conducted by public, private and nonprofit organizations. Although the
need for integrating these programs has always been a high priority on the national
agenda for public policy and research in entrepreneurship, their implementation
particularly in developing economies is characterized by fragmentation and lack of
coordination. Small business assistance will be meaningful if they are designed in a
holistic and systematic way and implemented with a view to achieve long term
sustainable development. This paper offers a conceptual framework for designing an
integrated model of small business assistance. The paper identifies the major
characteristics of small firms and potential small business assistance programs, and
presents a decision tree model that matches the characteristics of firms with appropriate
assistance program(s). A case study of small business assistance programs in the
Republic of Botswana was conducted to provide an empirical evidence of the need for
an integrated design or model. Finally, conclusions, discussions and the implications of
the model for policy makers, practitioners and further research are presented.
2004-01-01T00:00:00Z