This document discusses the South African entrepreneurial ecosystem that is required post-COVID-19 for small businesses and entrepreneurs to be sustainable. It outlines key elements of an entrepreneurial ecosystem including government support programs, private sector engagement, incubation, mentoring, and financing support. It notes challenges South African SMEs faced during COVID-19 like limited financing access. It argues the ecosystem must improve skills/education, SME financing, and digital inclusion to support entrepreneurship going forward.

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ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM
By
Mr. S.E. Ntlhane 22446622
079 480 3617
Elias.ntlhane@up.ac.za
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
MPhil in Business Management
Option: Entrepreneurship
in the
FACULTY OF ECONOMIC AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
at the
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA
Subject:
Entrepreneurial Start-Up Process (ENP 822)
Lecturer:
ENP 822 LECTURING TEAM
Date of submission:
2022-05-24

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DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Declaration Regarding Plagiarism
The Department of Business Management emphasises integrity and ethical behaviour with regard
to the preparation of all written assignments. Although the lecturer will provide you with information
regarding reference techniques, as well as ways to avoid plagiarism (see the “Guidelines on
Referencing” document), you also have a responsibility to fulfil in this regard. Should you at any time
feel unsure about the requirements, you must consult the lecturer concerned before submitting an
assignment.
You are guilty of plagiarism when you extract information from a book, article, web page or any other
information source without acknowledging the source and pretend that it is your own work. This does
not only apply to cases where you quote the source directly, but also when you present someone else’s
work in a somewhat amended (paraphrased) format or when you use someone else’s arguments or
ideas without the necessary acknowledgement. You are also guilty of plagiarism if you copy and paste
information directly from an electronic source (e.g., a web site, e-mail message, electronic journal article
or CD-ROM) without paraphrasing it or placing it in quotation marks, even if you acknowledge the
source.
You are not allowed to submit another student’s previous work as your own. You are furthermore
not allowed to let anyone copy or use your work with the intention of presenting it as his/her own.
Students who are guilty of plagiarism will forfeit all credits for the work concerned. In addition, the
matter will be referred to the Committee for Discipline (Students) for a ruling. Plagiarism is considered
a serious violation of the University’s regulations and may lead to your suspension from the University.
The University’s policy regarding plagiarism is available on the Internet at
http://www.library.up.ac.za/plagiarism/index.htm.
For the period that you are a student at the Department of Business Management, the following
declaration must accompany all written work that is submitted for evaluation. No written work will be
accepted unless the declaration has been completed and is included in the particular assignment.
Student
I (full names & surname): Segosele Elias Ntlhane
Student number: 22446622
Declare the following:
1. I understand what plagiarism entails and am aware of the University’s policy in this regard.
2. I declare that this assignment is my own, original work. Where someone else’s work was used
(whether from a printed source, the Internet or any other source) due acknowledgement was
given and reference was made according to departmental requirements.
3. I did not copy and paste any information directly from an electronic source (e.g., a web page,
electronic journal article or CD ROM) into this document.
4. I did not make use of another student’s previous work and submitted it as my own.
5. I did not allow and will not allow anyone to copy my work with the intention of presenting it as
his/her own work.
Segosele Elias Ntlhane
Signature: Student

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4. PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT
ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM

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SOUTH AFRICAN ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM THAT IS
REQUIRED, POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND
ENTREPRENEURS TO BE SUSTAINABLE
Understanding the entrepreneurial ecosystem, this is an enabling
environment that is created for entrepreneurial actions, opportunities,
and supports to come together in one place. Entrepreneurs have
frequent interactions with others to acquire new information and keep
an eye out for new business ideas when looking for information,
(Fatoki, 2014:922-922). Another key element of the entrepreneurial
ecosystem is the formal network that supports entrepreneurial
activities, these networks are evident during a community group
pandemic in the online context and play an important role in
connecting customers to the desired service.
South Africa's ecosystem is considerable for Its strong government
support and the number of programs aimed at high-tech
entrepreneurship. The government also found a way to stimulate
private sector engagement, (Mavlutova et al., 2021:339) Indicating
that a private company is investing from their small suppliers, as a
result, both public and privately funded initiatives invest in creating
employment and promoting SMEs. And, by increasing the ability
through incubation, mentoring, and provision of office space, advice,
and grants.
Entrepreneurs tend to adapt to changing environments. COVID19 not
only changed people's view of life, but also changed the global
business environment (Ratten, 2020:503-516). An entrepreneurial
ecosystem is a collaborative dynamic network of systems that interact
and provide an environment that enables entrepreneurship (Roundy &
Fayard, 2019:94-120). COVID-19 has triggered substantial damage,

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which involves business closures and changes in how entrepreneurial
activities are performed (Fubah & Moos, 2022:1), South African SMEs
face certain challenges in dealing with the crisis such as limited access
to low- and medium-level financing limitations. Therefore, South
Africa’s entrepreneurial system is as unique as it is in sub-Saharan
Africa. The country will need to overcome the structural factors and
create some of the most innovative and successful entrepreneurs. The
country will need the country to provide the institutional support that is
needed for high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
to emerge and prosper while government policies work toward filling
the historic gap and having a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem
foundation. Our South African entrepreneurial ecosystem is made of
many role players such as non-governmental organizations, investors,
incubators, innovation hubs, universities, customers, and customers.
The success of the entrepreneurial activity is highly dependent on the
context within which it occurs. Ecosystem factors such as government
policy frameworks and legislation, economic development and
performance, education and a host of social dynamics directly
influence and uniquely shape entrepreneurial activity and
development at a country level.
(SAB, 2017:1-21) for the South African small business to remain
sustainable post covid, first, the government will have to continue
building on the work already underway towards eliminating the dual
economy by increasing start-up skills, improving education and
training for all. Secondly, to improve the financing of SMEs and
entrepreneurs by engaging in bank reform, mobile banking, and crowd
funding for all South Africans and lastly, to build global brands and
further integrate South Africa into the digital revolution by making
digital access available to all.

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REFERENCE
Fatoki, O. 2014. The causes of the failure of new small and medium enterprises in South
Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20):922-922.
Fubah, C.N. & Moos, M. 2022. Exploring COVID-19 Challenges and Coping Mechanisms
for SMEs in the South African Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. Sustainability, 14(4):1.
Mavlutova, I., et al. 2021. Opportunities to increase financial well-being by investing in
environmental, social and governance with respect to improving financial literacy under
COVID-19: the case of Latvia. Sustainability, 14(1):339.
Ratten, V. 2020. Coronavirus (covid-19) and entrepreneurship: changing life and work
landscape. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 32(5):503-516.
Roundy, P.T. & Fayard, D. 2019. Dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial ecosystems: The
micro-foundations of regional entrepreneurship. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 28(1):94-
120.
SAB. 2017. The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Of South Africa.