Poor record keeping reason for SME failure

MANY small businesses in Namibia are run by people trying to survive rather than by entrepreneurs focused on building businesses that can grow, create jobs and attract investment.

This emerged during the first Fireplace Conversation of the season hosted by the Namibia Institute of Corporate Governance (NICG) on Thursday.

The discussion focused on what governance looks like for small businesses and side hustles and explored issues such as accountability, ethical conduct, decision-making and business growth.

SMEs Compete co-founder Danny Meyer says there is a need to distinguish between self-employed people and entrepreneurs when discussing the state of small businesses in Namibia.

He said many informal traders earn a living but are not necessarily building businesses that can expand.