- Title
- The Economic impact of electricity crisis on retail small businesses in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality
- Creator
- Nkohla, Nwabisa Sinazo
- Subject
- Small business -- Management
- Subject
- Stores, Retail -- South Africa -- East London
- Subject
- Electric power distribution
- Date Issued
- 2024-12
- Date
- 2024-12
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69989
- Identifier
- vital:78256
- Description
- Energy supply problems have persisted in South Africa since 2007, with the roll-out of electricity blackouts (known as “load shedding”) to reduce the load on ageing infrastructure. The demand and availability of electricity have been worsened by a developing economy and a growing population, set against a backdrop of decreasing energy generation. South Africa is among the countries that place a high value on the development and advancement of the SMME (small, medium and micro enterprises) sector. Many businesses in the country depend on Eskom for a steady supply of electricity necessary for their optimal operations. Nevertheless, some businesses will not be able to thrive due to concerns about the sustainability of electricity and price hikes, and business owners may be compelled to downsize their operations or completely shut down. The study focused on East London’s small businesses that form part of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, to better understand how the electrical crisis affected them and whether owners and the government have taken any proactive steps to prevent failure. Motivation for the study: Understanding the load shedding restrictions that prevent small business owners from fully engaging in the business model, is necessary to realise the full potential of the small business retail sector. This will help entrepreneurs and policymakers to make evidence-based choices that will foster the development of small enterprises, create jobs, and advance economic progress. To achieve the research goal, a qualitative approach was used. The necessary respondents were found using a purposive sampling technique. A total of 18 small businesses were interviewed to obtain data, which were then subjected to a thematic analysis. The results revealed that small business owners are confronted by numerous barriers from running successful businesses, due to several factors, ranging from revenue loss, customer behaviour, loss of production and operations to unavailability of capital/funding to purchase reliable energy sources, that would help them expand their business activities and provide reliable commodities. The research will contribute towards the retail sector’s efforts to capacitate and fully support small business owners in the Eastern Cape; even more so for businesses that do not have adequate returns or operating income, to source sustainable renewable energy sources.
- Description
- Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business School, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (130 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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- Visitors: 15
- Downloads: 4
Collections
NMU Business School
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | NKOHLA, N.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |