SIGNIFICANCE OF E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE CITY OF JOHANNESBURG

Abstract

This paper investigated the significance of e-government services for small businesses in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). This study employed a qualitative research approach. The primary data for the study were collected through interviews with local government officials and questionnaires with SMMEs. Purposive sampling was used for selecting local government officials, whereas convenience sampling was used to select SMMEs. Data were analyzed using both conceptual and document analysis methods. The study found that e-government was of little significance to SMMEs because it failed to support them in accessing basic, regulatory, financial, market and technical support services under the municipality’s local economic development structures. This study recommends an e-government-SMME framework that enhances the use of e-government services to optimize government support to SMMEs. In accordance with this suggested innovation, SMMEs would use e-government to communicate with stakeholders that provide business assistance and regulatory oversight via easy-to-use access application systems (Apps) and general web-based platforms. As a result, their access to finance, technical assistance, market, and regulatory entities would be increased, helping improve the situation when access to these entities is now viewed as difficult. The innovation is premised on the view that e-government may address most challenges faced by SMMEs in South Africa under the presumption that the country has many support systems and structures that fail to support SMMEs because of poor coordination, poor beneficiary engagement, unnecessary bureaucracy, and corruption. The study’s findings are significant considering that it brings a new framework that links e-government services to SMME challenges and solutions.