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SA's small business resilience shown as 80% of small firms grow despite challenges
The Mercury
|May 15, 2025
STATE OF SA SMALL BUSINESSES 2025
SOUTH African small businesses are continuing to display resilience, demonstrating remarkable resilience and optimism for the future in the face of political and economic uncertainty.
A recent report, The State of South African Small Business 2025, conducted by the global small business platform Xero reveals that a staggering 83% of small businesses witnessed revenue growth over the past year, while 90% expressed confidence in their prospects for growth moving forward.
Despite concerns that loom over the business landscape—nearly two-fifths of the surveyed entrepreneurs were worried about political instability, and more than a quarter anticipated service delivery challenges such as load shedding—small businesses are showing optimism for the year ahead.
According to the report, within the next year, 42% of small businesses plan to invest in upskilling their staff, while 40% aim to hire more personnel. Furthermore, 39% of these entrepreneurs are focused on developing skills in burgeoning technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).
This story is from the May 15, 2025 edition of The Mercury.
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