FinScope MSME South Africa 2024 Shows 3 Million MSMEs and Townships Face Informality Hurdles

The workshop also focused on actionable sales growth strategies including customer engagement, service excellence, pricing strategies and marketing consistency.

While the technical content centered on improving revenue performance, the most revealing insights emerged during the Mbawula Chat, an open Q&A session where entrepreneurs unpacked the real-world barriers affecting their ability to grow and sustain sales.

According to FinScope MSME South Africa 2024 by FinMark Trust, there are approximately 3 million micro, small and medium enterprises contributing over R5tn in turnover and employing 13.4 million people, with township MSMEs numbering over 1.3 million.

While 72% operate informally, research shows that businesses that formalise and gain better access to financial services are more likely to achieve higher turnover and stronger long-term growth.

Beyond tools and tactics, entrepreneurs raised deeper questions about the lived realities shaping business performance in township economies.

1. Strategic visibility and entrepreneurial timing

Entrepreneurs asked, Entrepreneurship is lonely. How do you decide when to move in silence and when to announce your moves?

The discussion highlighted the importance of timing in business visibility. Entrepreneurs were encouraged to refine offerings in early stages and later amplify their brands through consistent storytelling, marketing and community engagement that converts visibility into sales.

2. Consistency, brand exposure and sustained revenue growth

How do you remain consistent over the years by gaining brand exposure and increasing your sales? was a recurring concern.

Insights focused on building structured systems such as consistent marketing routines, customer engagement strategies, loyalty-building mechanisms and repeat sales models that drive long-term revenue stability.

3. Breakthrough moments and niche positioning

Attendees also asked, “How do you find your breakthrough moment, prepare for it, and decide on your niche?

The response emphasised market testing, identifying unmet local demand and focusing on a defined niche to improve positioning, marketing clarity and conversion rates. Businesses that specialise rather than over-diversify were noted as more likely to achieve scalable sales growth.

4. Safety, partnerships and sales stability

Safety and security concerns also surfaced, with entrepreneurs asking how real-world risks affect day-to day trading, customer movement and their ability to maintain reliable business partnerships.

Discussions highlighted that when trading environments are unstable, it directly impacts customer confidence, supply continuity and ultimately consistent sales performance.

Building sustainable businesses

Entrepreneurs were encouraged to build trusted local networks, strengthen reliable supplier relationships and put simple risk management practices in place to protect business continuity and sales flow.

Increasing sales in township economies requires more than marketing tactics. It demands strategic visibility, consistency, niche clarity and operational stability within complex real-world conditions.

Facilitators and partners including Nedbank, reinforced practical pathways highlighting customer-centric selling, digital adoption for payments and marketing and improved access to networks as key drivers of sales growth.

Despite structural challenges, the energy in Gugulethu reflected a consistent truth. Township entrepreneurs are not short of ambition, but of systems and support that convert effort into consistent sales growth.

As TEA continues its national rollout, the focus remains on bridging practical training with lived realities, ensuring that township businesses are equipped not only to survive but to increase sales, create jobs and strengthen local economies.