| Title | Chapter 6: Challenges and coping mechanisms of SMEs in townships versus suburban entrepreneurial ecosystems |
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| DOI | https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2025.BK527.06 |
| Landing page | https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/527 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Natanya Meyer, Marius Venter & Niel Kruger (eds.). Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd. The moral right of the editors and authors has been asserted. |
| Publisher | AOSIS |
| Long abstract | In South Africa, small businesses operate in both township and suburban entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs). However, despite the EE being regarded as a favourable environment for entrepreneurial activities, previous research still indicates that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face numerous challenges in various EEs. In South Africa, little research has been conducted to unravel the different challenges that SMEs face in township and suburban EEs, as well as how they deal with them. The goal of this chapter is, therefore, to unravel and compare the challenges and coping mechanisms of SMEs in township and suburban EEs in the South African context. Data for the chapter were collected from 12 SMEs operating in the township and suburban EEs using a generic qualitative research design and a purposive sampling method. The findings reveal the various challenges that SMEs in South Africa’s township and suburban EEs face, as well as their coping mechanisms. The study makes a significant contribution to the entrepreneurial literature in township contexts, an area that has received little attention in South African entrepreneurship research. In addition, the study has practical implications for entrepreneurs as well as policymakers. |
| Print length | 21 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
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Menisha Moos is an associate professor in the Department of Business Management at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She earned her Doctor of Commerce (DCom) in Business Management from the University of Pretoria. Her research interests include entrepreneurship and small business, specifically focusing on entrepreneurial ecosystems in terms of their different factors, components and actors, entrepreneurship education, youth entrepreneurship and gender entrepreneurship. Moos is a section editor of the Southern African Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. She has published in national and international journals, acted as a peer reviewer in accredited journals, and supervised Honours, Master’s and PhD students.
Robyn Goss earned her Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Entrepreneurship from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She was a business advisor at the Mamelodi Business Hub in the Department of Business Management at the University of Pretoria, which serves the township entrepreneurs’ community.
Clavis Nwehfor Fubah is a researcher in the Department of Business Management at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He earned his PhD from the University of Pretoria, and his research interests include entrepreneurial ecosystems, immigrant entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, networking and the circular economy. Fubah’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Business Strategy and The Environment, Journal of Enterprising Communities and The International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, among others.