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Entrepreneurship is thriving amongst the immigrant population in South Africa. There is an explosion of successful immigrant SMMEs. Researchers acknowledge that immigrants are operating successful SMMEs. There is still a paucity in the body of knowledge about the operational strategies contributing to the thriving of immigrant enterprises. The objective of the study is to examine the operational strategies of African Immigrant SMMEs. The study sought to answer the main research question – “What are the operational strategies of African immigrant SMMEs in Thulamela Local Municipality? The study adopted a qualitative approach. The population was immigrant SMMEs in Thulamela Local Municipality. Purposive non-probability and snowball sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 20 participants who met the set qualifying criteria for the study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants in English. Data was analysed using Archive of Technology, Life world and Language for text interpretation (ATLAS.ti) Version 8.4. The study found that operational strategies adopted by African immigrant SMMEs include industry experience capitalisation; credit to regular customers; long operating hours; competitor consciousness; and fast customer service. A similar study may be conducted in other municipalities or provinces towards a broader understanding of the subject matter in different contexts.

Women migrant informal traders face numerous vulnerabilities worldwide. In developing countries, women engaged in informal trading constitute a significant portion of the workforce within the informal economy. Many of these women originate from African countries and initially seek employment opportunities within South Africa's informal sector. This study aims to examine the participation of Congolese refugee women in the informal economy within local markets in Durban. Employing a qualitative research methodology, data was collected from ten Congolese women who confront various challenges, including family responsibilities, police harassment, documentation obstacles, and limited access to financial services. Participants were selected using snowball sampling between 2008 and 2009. The findings indicate that approximately 90% of the women engage in entrepreneurial activities to compensate for the lack of formal employment opportunities, thereby improving their livelihoods and contributing positively to the wider community. The study highlights the important role played by Congolese women in Durban’s informal economy and underscores the need for gender-responsive policies. Implementing such policies can empower women informal traders and support the socio-economic development of Durban.

Immigrant-owned enterprises have become a significant part of South Africa’s informal and formal economic sectors, particularly within local municipalities. In Thulamela Local Municipality, located in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to local economic activities, especially in retail and the informal sector. Despite their visible presence and contributions, these entrepreneurs encounter a range of limitations that threaten the sustainability and scalability of their businesses. This study explores the key challenges hindering immigrant enterprise owners in Thulamela Local Municipality, to identify both structural and context-specific barriers. The study adopts a qualitative research approach, utilising in-depth interviews and purposive sampling to gather data from 12 participants, guided by a structured interview guide. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns and lived experiences across cases. The findings of the study reveal several persistent challenges, including limited access to formal financial institutions, complex regulations, social exclusion, and xenophobic attitudes from local communities. These challenges not only hinder business growth but also limit the long-term integration of immigrant entrepreneurs into the broader local economy. Furthermore, the insufficient institutional support and representation in local enterprise structures amplify their vulnerability and marginalisation. The study recommends the establishment of inclusive local economic growth strategies and structured support programs that recognise the unique role immigrant entrepreneurs play in local economic resilience and inclusive development in underdeveloped municipalities.

Immigrant entrepreneurship has been credited for its contribution to economic development globally. The importance placed on immigrant entrepreneurship has put it at the centre of debate in South Africa. The debate emanates from whether immigrant entrepreneurs bring value to the economy of South Africa or not. However, studies have revealed that immigrant entrepreneurship, if properly regulated, plays a pivotal role in the economy. The study aimed to investigate the role of cultural and disruptive innovation on immigrant entrepreneurs' competitive advantage. The study used a qualitative research methodology, which allowed the study to have a deeper insight into the experiences of immigrant entrepreneurs regarding the aspects of cultural and disruptive innovation, which play a role in their business performance. Data was collected from 20 immigrant entrepreneurs operating in the Eastern Cape. The study findings reveal that cultural and disruptive innovation aspects that have aided immigrant entrepreneurs in having a competitive advantage have more to do with adopting unique business models and strategies, which include networking, adaptability, and market creation or differentiation. The study also highlighted policy and practitioner implications, especially for South African township entrepreneurs.

Refugee women entrepreneurship has been played a crucial role in economic development and poverty alleviation in both sending and receiving countries. Although their contribution to socioeconomic development in South Africa, they face various challenges including proper identity documents from the Department of Home Affairs, financial resources, and services to enter the labor market in SA. The purpose of this study is to explore the entrepreneurial skills of DR Congolese refugee women in Durban. This study used qualitative research methodology including both explanatory and descriptive theories during data collection. The study used in-depth interviews and questionnaires where ten Congolese refugee women informal traders between the age of 24 and 41 years were selected through snowball techniques from Congolese community in Durban. The results revealed that entrepreneurial activity has been considered as an approach of empowering refugee women and poverty alleviation in their receiving countries. The findings show that refugees are the most unlikely entrepreneurs as they lacked the resources to launch a new enterprise with no history of credit and lack of assets or security to bank loan. The study revealed the needs of UNHCR, NGOs and government’s support in terms of sponsoring refugees’ projects, especially business training and appropriate identity documents from the department of Home Affairs. The economic contributions of female refugee entrepreneurs from the Congo in South Africa could be substantial if supported by gender-responsive policies and the provision of formal identification documents, along with access to business training opportunities. This would enhance their well-being and contribute to the economic growth of Durban.

This research offers a comprehensive examination of immigrant entrepreneurship within Eastern Cape Province towns, with a specific focus on Sterkspruit and Aliwal-North The purpose of this was to investigate the opportunities and challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs within towns in the Eastern Cape Province. The qualitative research approach which followed a phenomenological research philosophy was adopted. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select 10 immigrant entrepreneurs. Thereafter, in-depth interviews were employed in gathering primary data from the selected sample which is African and Asian immigrant entrepreneurs operating in the selected towns (Aliwal-North and Sterkspruit) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The results of the study indicate that immigrant entrepreneurs enjoy some opportunities and also are faced with challenges in doing business in these towns. The results furthermore indicate that immigrant entrepreneurs know the causes of their challenges as they explain them. The results also indicate the possible ways the challenges can be managed or overcome. The study, therefore, concluded that some of the opportunities and challenges identified by the interviewed participants were of South African government policies and regulations. It was therefore recommended that as a way of improving the handling of business engagement, immigrant entrepreneurs attend business workshops and exposes.  

This study investigated the nature and operations of African migrant informal enterprises in Mandeni municipality. The study utilised a qualitative approach with an exploratory research design.  The participants were sampled using the purposive sampling and the semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from research participants who were African migrant informal enterprise owners. Thematic analysis was employed as a tool for data analysis.  The study established that African migrants own different informal enterprises in which they sell a variety of goods and most African migrants do not start businesses out of their own free will, rather, they do so in response to a lack of other alternatives, which makes starting a business appear to be the only possible option. These enterprises vary in size, scale, and operations.

Both developed and developing nations are seeing a growth in migrant enterprises and factors that contribute to the growth of migrant enterprises in various nations vary from one nation to another. This research study aimed to explore and seek an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing the growth of African migrant informal enterprises. The study utilised a qualitative approach with an exploratory research design.  The participants were sampled using purposive sampling and the semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from research participants who were African migrant informal enterprise owners. Thematic analysis was employed as a tool for data analysis. A major finding from this study is that many of the African migrant informal enterprises are linked to social networks and together with the different entrepreneurial strategies employed by African migrants have contributed to the growth of African migrant-owned informal enterprises. Furthermore, despite the growing attention on African migrant enterprises in the academic literature but majority of the studies have focused on big cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban therefore there is limited which has focused on smaller cities. Therefore, this study occupies that gap and investigated the factors influencing the growth of these African migrant informal enterprises in the Mandeni Local Municipality.

The paper seeks to illustrate the propinquity between mobile phone technology and the profitability of immigrant entrepreneurs’ businesses and whether there is a positive effect. The outcome should ascertain if mobile technology could be propounded as a credible source of competitive advantage. The paper uses a qualitative approach, using content analysis as the research design tool. Data analysis was done through the conceptual content analysis approach. Various online databases such as EBSCOhost, Google scholar, JSTOR, and Science Direct were accessed for literature. Different terms (keywords) such as; “Mobile phone technology”, “mobile marketing”, and “mobile payment” were searched. The data collected through a systematic literature review were compiled, analysed, and generated conclusions. This paper deduces that immigrant entrepreneurs stand to gain a competitive edge by using mobile phone technology, thereby improving business performance. Future researchers need to expand the scope of their study to other sectors and industries globally. The paper exhibits the significance of apps and websites as mobile technology tools that can positively impact business performance. This paper outlines how mobile technology is now an essential catalyst in the performance of various business sectors. Results are essential to app and website developers, entrepreneurs and the business society.

This paper aims to contribute to the rapidly growing transnational immigrant entrepreneurship (TIE) literature by empirically exploring eco-factors and components from entrepreneurial ecosystem perspectives. Through content analysis of the TIE concepts and definitions of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the study defines the concept of the immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and suggests it as an instrument for studying the relationship between immigrant firms and their business environment. Case studies and qualitative analysis examines and evaluates the dual (host- and home-country) entrepreneurial ecosystem (DEE) and its eco-factors and components. Case studies show cultural norms, in particular, home-country national values and family values, are key players in transnational entrepreneurs who engage in transnational entrepreneurship. The research results support that the DEE framework is a key instrument for the study of the determination of transnational immigrant entrepreneurs’ motivation, strategy, and outcomes. This research theoretically contributes to TIE literature by finding new influential eco-factors and components, thus, enhancing the DEE framework. It also provides suggestions to policymakers and practitioners and further research directions.

The small business sector has been identified as an essential component of the global economy, especially in developing economies, where it plays a significant role in addressing job creation and poverty. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant lockdown restrictions have brought untold devastation to the sector forcing many out of operation, crippling business operations and financial viability. We seek to identify the role and impact of government relief measures in helping immigrant-owned businesses in South Africa to deal with the impact of the pandemic on their businesses. Primary data was collected using an electronic questionnaire administered to 260 foreign business owners in South Africa. The data was cleaned and statistically analysed using IBM SPSS version 27. We interpreted and discussed the results using the realistic conflict theory. Though a vast majority of the businesses (89%) reported that the pandemic had a very severe impact on their financial sustainability and liquidity, none of them reported that they benefitted from any of the South African government business support packages during the pandemic.