Knowledge-Sharing Workshop on SME Development in South Africa

With the establishment of a new department for small business development, the South African government is reaffirming its commitment to job creation through SMEs as it seeks to find innovative and effective ways to nurture and develop the sector. In this context, a knowledge-sharing workshop on SME development was organised on 30 July 2014 by the Technical Management Support (TMS) Project managed by National Treasury, the General Representative of the Government of Flanders in South Africa and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The workshop centred around the theme: “Innovative models for Supporting SMEs in South Africa: What do we know, what can we do, and how will it stimulate job creation?” and aimed to stimulate debate among government departments, private sector organizations, academia and civil society on different models and lessons learned regarding SME development and job creation. 

The workshop was based on inventive knowledge-sharing methodologies allowing participants to exchange thoughts, to develop new ideas and formulate suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of support to the sector.