According to the summit, the need to support and boost South Africa's SME sector (which currently provides formal jobs for 28% of the population) must be prioritised. This is because more than 90% of South African SME's have experienced revenue drops since April 2020 and many businesses have been left vulnerable.
This support is not just financial, but psychological as well, highlights the summit.
"Where people need to innovate and create their own jobs to sustain themselves and provide occupation and income for others, we need to provide the psychological tools to support those with ambition," says Deenash Pillay, head of enterprise banking propositions at Standard Bank. "We cannot allow innovators and entrepreneurs to give up on their dreams and visions at this critical time."
The summit, which has been presented for the past three years in partnership with
Business Day, aims to provide an opportunity for small business owners, entrepreneurs, incubators, franchisors, investors, as well as suppliers to the SME sector to come together and engage with experts in the business, technology, marketing and investment fields.
Business reimagined is what drives this year's agenda as business growth expert Pavlo Phitidis hosts the four-part series of free SME summit webinars to guide small business owners on the road to recovery.
Individuals who wish to participate in the free event on Wednesday, 12 May can register
here.
For more information, visit
www.smesummit.co.za. You can also follow the summit on
Facebook or on
Twitter.