Impact evaluation of entrepreneurial support programmes: a case study of the Mangosuthu university of technology-technology station in chemicals.

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is generally regarded as a tool for socio-economic development, and in SA it is regarded as a vehicle for poverty reduction, employment creation and economic development. Entrepreneurship support programmes are interventions or initiatives designed to enhance competitiveness of entrepreneurs and in particular Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). The SA government has established a number of agencies and institutions whose main function is to develop the SMMEs through various forms of support. Amongst these entrepreneurship programmes are those that are geared towards improving innovation, technology usage and adoption amongst SMMEs. The desired outcomes of these initiatives are encouraging and escalating technological innovation in order to enhance economic growth and the standards of living for all South Africans. At the core of these initiatives is developing and exploiting technological innovations. This research study aimed at evaluating the impact of the entrepreneurship support programmes on the intended beneficiaries which are SMMEs. The impact evaluation of entrepreneurship support programme was conducted through a case study of the MUT-TSC, a centre that provides technological support to chemical manufacturing SMMEs. The study revealed that this technology transfer centre is meeting the needs of the SMMEs by providing access to facilities, infrastructure and information and support to SMMEs at affordable cost. It also revealed that the indicators that are used by implementing agencies during monitoring and evaluation exercises are effective indicators of impact on beneficiaries. The study also revealed that the services of the technology transfer centre results in desirable and positive impact on the technological aspect of the SMMEs. This implies that there is a direct link between outputs that are measured (success indicators) and desirable outcomes (positive impact) of the programme on the targeted beneficiaries.