Previous research has shown that small business growth may be the consequence of various factors. Entrepreneurs face various challenges in the growth of their businesses. A lack of support and general resources are some of the challenges they face. This causal research study explored the impact that the use of government support initiatives has on the growth of the businesses of female entrepreneurs in Tshwane South

Background: Mentoring as support for both the business and the individual entrepreneur or small business owner is important for the continued perseverance of the entrepreneurial journey.Aim: Different mentoring outcomes were evaluated to establish what is being gained from the mentoring relationships to encourage other entrepreneurs and small business owners to pursue mentoring relationships.Setting: South African entrepreneurs and small business owners who were currently being mentored or had been mentored.Method: The study used a survey research design that consisted of 209 qualifying entrepreneurs and small business owners. An online questionnaire was used to collect the data.Results: The results show that there is a relationship between the different mentoring outcomes (skills transfer outcomes, knowledge transfer outcomes, entrepreneur resilience outcomes and business outcomes). In addition, it was established that as the mentoring relationship goes through the different phases of initiation, cultivation, separation and redefinition, mentoring outcomes such as skills transfer and entrepreneur resilience are independently attained.Conclusion: Understanding the outcomes of mentoring will encourage more participation in the field of mentoring for South African mentors, entrepreneurs and small business owners through awareness of the benefits thereof as well as how mentoring can form a strong supporting mechanism. This research makes a theoretical contribution by naming and grouping mentoring outcomes into four categories, such as skills transfer outcomes, knowledge transfer outcomes, entrepreneur resilience outcomes and business outcomes.

Globally, COVID-19 has caused significant damage, including business closures and changes in how entrepreneurial activities are performed. The pandemic has spawned a slew of publications with the majority thereof being editorials, commentaries, and concept notes. This implies a lack of empirical evidence on the pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to explore the COVID-19 challenges and coping mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Data for the study were collected from 15 SME owners through semi-structured interviews using a generic qualitative research method. The findings revealed that the SME COVID-19 challenges included lockdown restrictions, customer loss, lack of government support, and scarcity of raw materials. The coping mechanisms used by the SMEs were having a positive entrepreneurial mindset followed by reduced service prices and the retrenchments of employees. Theoretically, the study contributes to the scarce empirical evidence on COVID-19 challenges and coping mechanisms for SMEs in the South African context; to the available literature in the entrepreneurial ecosystem context and to the world at large. Practically, it is recommended that during crises, businesses should network with one another to remain operational and, owing to e-commerce, they are encouraged to have an online presence.

Declining entrepreneurship as indicated by low total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) and high business failure is unacceptable in any economy. This predicament is indicative of South Africa’s business environment as well as the entrepreneurial disposition of firms operating within it. However, the factors precipitating entrepreneurial behaviour among small firms are yet to be fully comprehended and the environment as a motivation for entrepreneurship among these firms is yet to be examined thoroughly. Furthermore, research focus on the antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is limited, even as EO has been considered as an aggregated construct repeatedly with inadequate attention directed at its independent constituents. In response to these concerns, this study investigates the relationships between environmental hostility (EH) and the individual components of EO among small businesses in South Africa. Using a quantitative methodological approach, the study conducts a survey, and analyses data obtained through random sampling. Through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), it is discovered that only four components of EO are statistically recognisable, contrary to five as widely acknowledged in literature. Positive associations were also revealed between EH and each of these dimensions to varying degrees. These findings underline the necessity for entrepreneurial action along the lines of risk-taking, proactive-innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy among small businesses in South Africa, given the hostile environment of her small business sector.

Background: With the high unemployment and increasing levels of poverty in South Africa (SA), especially in the townships, the start-up and growth of township-owned small businesses have been proposed as the solution to address this phenomenon. The extant causation approach has had its challenges to develop township-owned small businesses because of resource constraints. Consequently, the emergent effectuation approach is worth investigating.Aim: This study aimed to determine if the practice of effectuation and the effectuation constructs (experimentation, affordable loss, flexibility and pre-commitments) by a non-expert township small business owner (NTSBO) would result in business growth (assets, sales and employment growth) and if the industries the businesses are operating in are a moderating variable.Setting: Primary research was conducted in the three Gauteng townships of Alexandra, Honeydew and Soweto in SA because townships contribute more than 38% towards South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP).Methods: A quantitative study of 728 NTSBOs was conducted using an interview-administered structured questionnaire. Non-probability sampling methods were used, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).Results: The study found that effectuation and its components of experimentation and flexibility had statistically significant relationships with financial business growth (FBG). Industry did not moderate these relationships that were found. Experimentation and flexibility probably empowered the NTSBO to adapt to the ever-changing and unpredictable township business environment they operate in. Neither effectuation nor its components demonstrated statistically significant relationships with nonfinancial business growth.Conclusion: The findings of this study may inform policymakers, government and financial institutions that the effectuation approach can be an option incorporated for the training, funding and/or support of township small business owners.