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Johannesburg - Most small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have pretty much kept their heads above water during the recession - only 5% of those questioned for the latest SME Survey suffered losses.
Agricultural enterprises form the majority of those still keeping well afloat in the economic storm, and about 40% are showing profits.
"This sector has been able to perform better than its competitors because food remains a basic human requirement, and demand has remained fairly stable," said Louis van Ravesteyn, head of SMEs at Standard Bank.
"About 60% of those questioned expressed confidence in their ability to survive the recession."
Over the past year most businesses' survival strategy has been a return to basic business principles. "They have emphasised stricter financial control, the optimising of costs, marketing and improvement in the quality of service delivery," Van Ravesteyn noted.
The majority of entrepreneurs (93%) regard a positive cash flow as the most important element for sustainability, and more than two-thirds have a good cash flow. The credit crisis has deterred most of them from borrowing.
According to the opinion poll, the government has not been plied with requests for assistance - only 41% of the respondents believed government aid was important.
- Sake24.com
For more business news in Afrikaans, go to Sake24.com.