The contribution of private equity capital to enterprise development in South Africa.

• Main Author: Nhleko, Charlie Sam.
• Other Authors: Manion, Gillian Lesley Colenso.
• Language: en_ZA
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: New business enterprises > South Africa.; Private equity funds > South Africa.; Private equity > South Africa.; Theses > Business administration.
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10413/11235

Employment, economic growth and self-reliance are the appetites of every country. Small enterprise development is seen as an effective solution towards this goal depending on the availability of resources. Private equity finance is one of the key resources to enterprise development in a country. International case studies have shown that private equity finance can lead to enterprise development in a country. The aim of the study is to determine the contribution of private equity finance to enterprise development in South Africa. In order to get views from other role players in the private equity finance market, questionnaires were distributed to 200 private equity finance players and the response rate was 39%. The sample size comprised 61.5% males and 38.5% females. The majority of the participants were in the age group 25–34 and constituted 53% of the respondents, whilst those aged 35–49 years constituted 35.9%. A smaller number of respondents were in the age group 18–24 and 50 and above, which both comprised 11.5% as an aggregate. The results revealed that there is a positive correlation between enterprise development and private equity capital with 83% of the respondents agreeing and strongly agreeing that the business skills and expertise brought by private equity investors increase business performance. Of the respondents, 74.4% strongly agree and agree with the notion that most Small and Medium Enterprises do need the intervention of private equity investors. It is recommended that the government, through relevant legislation, needs to promote and encourage private equity investment. Some form of private equity investment such as angel investment needs to be formalized, as is available in other countries such as the United States of America and some countries in Europe. === MBA. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2010.