Building linkages between micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and multinational companies from the global South: the case of Southern Africa

Abstract

ILO estimates that small and medium-sized enterprises account for more than two thirds of total employment in developing and emerging economies. In the Middle East and North Africa, self-employment, and microenterprises, namely enterprises with fewer than 10 employees, account for some 70 per cent of total employment, while in sub-Saharan Africa they account for approximately 80 per cent. The empirical analysis of linkages in Southern African countries discussed in the present report was conducted based on data collected through two surveys, namely the micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprise survey, which was addressed to local micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and the multinational enterprises survey, which was addressed to local affiliates of foreign multinational enterprises. The micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprise survey was completed by 62 micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises active in a variety of economic sectors in Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zambia. The multinational enterprise survey was completed by the managers of five foreign multinational enterprise affiliates, namely two South-African food retailers, two South African manufacturing enterprises and one Japanese enterprise active in the fishing sector. During the field mission to Namibia, relevant institutional stakeholders were also interviewed and asked about the status of linkages in the country and about opportunities and challenges faced by companies in that regard.