Many owners of small, medium-sized and micro enterprises (SMMEs) are not highly educated but are so motivated that they take uncalculated risks when starting their own businesses – often with disastrous consequences. It is therefore imperative that these owner-managers are provided with the right type of services to ensure that they do not become part of the SMME failure statistics. These owners are frequently not even aware of the existence of support organizations, because in many instances the organizations do not market their services properly due to limited funds. In countries that have policies specifically targeted at SMMEs, the rate of SMME development is much faster than in countries without such policies and it is evident that the role of support service providers is important. A typical service model should include at least some of the following services: business functions; education and training; consulting, counselling and coaching; policy and advocacy; and networking and infrastructure.
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