Sustaining and Scaling the Impact of Enterprise Development Programmes: SABMiller’s Approach to Strengthening Business Ecosystems

Abstract

Enterprise development is fundamental to poverty alleviation, job creation, economic growth, and human development. It can help the entrepreneur make ends meet, achieve financial security, accumulate wealth, become a leader and set an example for others; create jobs and incomes in his or her community; generate tax revenues for governments; and catalyze a range of multiplier effects, from food security to improved nutrition to better access to health care and education for future generations. In countries with support structures in place, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can account for significant percentages of both employment and gross domestic product (GDP). In high-income countries, SMEs account for more than 60% of both employment and GDP; in low-income countries, they account for nearly 80% of employment but less than 20% of GDP. As a result, whether entrepreneurs start their businesses because they cannot find jobs (""necessity entrepreneurship"") or because they see market opportunities (""opportunity entrepreneurship""), helping them grow is a development imperative.