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Research Publications (Management Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/217

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Author: search.filters.author.Cele, ZamaswaziHas files: Yes

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    Review of the lockdown regulations’ impact on informal businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (Durban University of Technology, 2023) Cele, Zamaswazi; Tshikovhi, Ndivhuho
    Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown regulations caused enormous changes in all business sectors because many businesses were not allowed to operate. Only a few were regarded as essential businesses, such as pharmacies and grocery shops, and allowed to operate. Lockdown regulations negatively affected the South African informal sector. As a result, it is difficult to provide accurate statistics on the entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no official statistics from the informal sector. This paper aims to examine how the informal sector was affected by the lockdown down restrictions within South Africa. The paper adopts a systematic review methodology using Google Scholar and Web of Science or Scopes to search for articles on informal entrepreneurship, COVID-19, and South Africa to draw a conclusion from the analysed data. The findings indicated that most of the businesses in the informal sector were negatively affected, including workers because some of them lost their jobs and others did not receive their usual salaries due to limited working hours. There were disruptions in the supply chain and pricing of goods and services, and people could not have sustained their income during the lockdown in South Africa. In conclusion, the informal sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors that lacks access to appropriate risk management structures, and most people live on a hand to mouth basis. COVID-19 has negatively affected the informal sector, mainly through distribution and marketing systems.
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    Driving sustainable growth for small and medium enterprises in emerging urban–rural economies
    (MDPI AG, 2023) Tshikovhi, Ndivhuho; More, Krantisagar; Cele, Zamaswazi
    Rural economies are crucial for global development, with more than 80% of the world’s population living in rural areas and agriculture providing livelihoods for approximately 2.5 billion people worldwide. However, these economies are often vulnerable to various factors, including climate change, natural disasters, and a lack of progressive economic policies. The main aim of making rural economies more sustainable is to promote long-term economic development, protect the environment, and improve the quality of life in urban–rural communities. This paper explored certain strategies for enhancing rural economies to be more sustainable. The results show that smart growth has been rapidly growing in urban cities, while certain communities outside urban areas have been left behind. However, both urban and rural communities need economic growth and be adaptive to smart growth to serve their communities and adhere to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the new era of innovation. Thus, we argue that rural areas are a big part of emerging economies. As such, they cannot be left behind in any smart growth. In this study, we found that rural economies need training and up-skilling in order to improve their sustainability and efficiency targets. Through a systematic review, this paper looked at various ways rural communities can solve their challenges toward smart growth and the sustainability of their resources. As a result, we propose solutions for urban–rural communities to implement in daily activities in terms of policy and practice approaches.