SMD

3. FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Ms Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams, MP Minister of Small Business Development

The 2023/24 Annual Report outlines the contribution that the Department of Small Business Development has made to Government’s priority of achieving faster and more inclusive economic growth through the provision of enabling support to small enterprises. The work of the department during the 2023/24 Financial Year was framed by government’s broader priorities as outlined in the National Development Plan 2030 and the 2019-24 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), as well as our National Integrated Small Enterprise Development Strategic Framework (NISED). The NISED is the country’s third iteration MSME Strategy and was approved by Cabinet in the 2022/23 Financial Year. Much was achieved by the Department in the year under review: • We improved our performance this year, achieving 85% of performance targets. • We spent 98.2% of the final budget of R2.529 billion, amounting to R2.485 billion, and recorded no fruitless and wasteful expenditure. • We maintained our unqualified audit opinion, with no findings for both the Annual Financial Statements and performance information.

• We paid all valid creditors promptly, within an average of six days. • We reduced our vacancy rate by 11.8% towards filling the approved organizational structure. • We achieved 53.7% representation of women in senior management, and a 3.7% employment rate for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) against a target of 3%, showcasing the Department’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. • We supported, through our agencies, 20 509 MSMEs and co-operatives as part of the Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP). • We amended our enabling legislation, the National Small Enterprise Act, which has recently been assented to by the President, and which enables the establishment of our new one-stop agency – the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA). The new entity integrates Seda, sefa and the Co-operative Banks Development Agency, and will come into being on 01 October 2024. The amended legislation also enables us to establish the Office of the Small Enterprise Ombuds.

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Department of Small Business Development • GENERAL INFORMATION • Part A