SMME stands for small, medium and micro-enterprises. It is a business type that is classified as an independent entity in South Africa. We can find the SMME definition on the department of Small Business Development’s website at http://www.dusbizhub.co.za.
The department of small business development defines an SMME as any independently owned and controlled enterprise that has less than 200 employees.
SMMEs are important to the South African economy because they generate more than half of all employment, provide over 60% of total exports, employ about 50% of workers in manufacturing industries and contribute about 90% of total export earnings.
This makes them very important for economic growth and job creation or keeping people. Small businesses also provide better living conditions for employees compared to larger ones which can lead to higher productivity levels within the same company or industry due to better training programs offered at smaller companies that tend not to offer such opportunities because of their size alone.
SMME refers to any type of business from small, medium and micro-enterprises. The Department of Small Business Development defines an SMME as:
- A company with fewer than 20 employees; or
- A company with fewer than 500 employees; or
- A company that was established on or after 1 January 2008 (or a predecessor
