Abstract

The study sought to investigate factors contributing to closures in steel small business enterprises in Gweru urban Zimbabwe. Fundamentally, the examination of this topic has been stimulated by criticism of the rapid closures of SMEs against thousands of dollars being siphoned by government to promote SMEs for economic development. The qualitative research approach was used to solicit various ideas, opinions, perceptions and attitudes on factors leading to unprecedented closures of small businesses enterprises in the steel fabrication industry. Data were collected through face to face interviews, focus groups and open ended questionnaires. Purposive sampling was employed to collect data for this study..Data were thematically analysed in line with the qualitative research approaches. It emerged from the empirical findings of the study that factors, such as managerial skills, lack of finance, legislation, lack of financial control, business information, lack of planning, red tape, bureaucracy, marketing issues and escalating of costs led to the closures. This study recommends that SMEs be closely monitored and supervised as interventions to mitigate effectiveness through feedback mechanism. Furthermore there is need for support from the government, private sector and other stakeholders.

Authors and Affiliations