Chasomeris, Mihalis Georgiou.Harinarian, Niresh.2025-11-072025-11-0720242024https://hdl.handle.net/10413/24036Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.South Africa’s small business failure rate is amongst the highest globally. The increasing turbulence in the world makes it imperative that SMMEs proactively develop resilience strategies to face any disruption the future may present. Despite the field of research on SMME survival and growth being relatively mature, the study of business resilience in SMMEs has not received sufficient focus prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. By identifying the challenges that retail SMME owners face in making their businesses resilient to disruptive events from a holistic perspective, more comprehensive and viable solutions can be determined to address such challenges and build more resilient and prosperous SMMEs. This study conducts a qualitative exploration of the challenges faced by SMME owners in the retail sector in building resilience against disruptive events and crises. It examines resilience across multiple dimensions, including financial, operational, technological, business model, organisational, and reputational aspects. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 12 SMME owner-managers who were purposively selected from the research area of Westville/Reservoir Hills and analysed using thematic analysis. The findings highlighted several challenges to financial resilience, including difficulties with borrowing and assessing risk coverage and economic or resource-related barriers to diversifying revenue streams. Operational resilience was affected by issues such as supplier diversification constraints, reliance on backup power, weak social capital, and problems with labour management and security. Technological resilience was compromised by outdated systems and infrastructure. Business model and market position resilience faced hurdles in establishing alternative sales channels and adapting to changes in consumer behaviour. Organisational resilience struggled with developing employee skills and maintaining motivation. Reputational resilience was challenged by managing customer expectations and sentiment on social media, ensuring employee compliance with safety standards, and upholding sustainable practices.enCC0 1.0 Universalhttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Challenges.Crisis.Disruption.Resilience.SME.Masters Degree.Thesis