The owner-operators’ choice of dressmaking as a form of micro-enterprise was due to them being exposed to garment-making in different ways. None of the owner-operators had any formal experience in managing a micro-enterprise. Through trial and error, they progressed in the management of their business. The decision to enter into the dressmaking micro-enterprise was motivated by the relatively low start-up costs involved. Another advantage cited by respondents on choosing dressmaking as a form of micro- enterprise is the relative ease with which they can establish their own stock of finished goods. Fabrics can be purchased in bulk as they are not perishable and are easy to store. Completed products are sold largely at places such as the flea markets over weekends at the Durban beachfront. These flea markets attract a wide range of clients including local and international tourists. However, the cost of securing a stall at these fleamarkets is prohibitively high resulting in low profits on sold garments. As a result, they ask their employees or assistants to undertake door-to- door sales in surrounding residential suburbs.
Conclusion Newlands West’s dressmaking enterprises emerged largely as a response by their owner- operators and originators to the growing
unemployment prevalent in the country as the more formal sectors of the economy are failing to generate secure, sustainable and decent employment. This, together with the micro-enterprise owner-operators’ sourcing of material for production purposes from the formal factories and fabric shops, supports the theory that both informal and the formal sides of the economy are linked, while simultaneously further discrediting the two economies discourse.
Notwithstanding their origins, the micro- enterprises are not as yet a viable alternative in terms of job creation and serving as a source of income and livelihoods in spite of their economic growth potential. It was noted that at most, they only provide a disguised form of employment for those employed to assist. They are unaffected by the post-apartheid government’s policy framework which was meant to extend support to the small, medium and micro-enterprises. The result has been their inability to overcome the constraints they are facing such as constricted access to the markets for their products and access to financial and infrastructural support. This poses a serious challenge to the government in terms of finding ways of ensuring that the services made available through the policy framework reach this clearly most marginalised section of the informal economy. This is particularly so the owner-operators are not only optimistic that with support they can grow their businesses further, but also that their current profit levels as well as their skills and education levels are an indicator of this potential.
18 Management Today | January 2012
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