IDIA2009 Conference
e-Finance: A Key to Improve SMMEs Access to South African Government Funding
Boitumelo Nkaelang
Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa SAP Meraka Unit for Technology Development, Pretoria, South Africa
Marlien Herselman
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, South Africa
SJ Jacobs
Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
Ernest Ketcha Ngassam
SAP Meraka Unit for Technology Development, Pretoria, South Africa School of Computing, University of South Africa
Abstract
The South African government has initiated a number of funding schemes for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to stimulate economic growth and job creation. Despite these funding schemes through various government programs and initiatives, SMMEs still find it difficult to get access to finance from such initiatives. Many of these initiatives operate in isolation, lack close coordination and as a result there is a loss of synergistic benefits. The argument presented here is that governmental financial institutions can achieve competitiveness and overcome some of their challenges through innovatively employing Information Communication Technology (ICT) in their organisations. It is proposed that the translation of the existing manual-based transaction model to an e-finance model may lead to an effective and efficient service delivery, which in turn could positively result in financial sustainability and growth of SMMEs.
