Research on entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa tends to focus on survivalism and the informal sector. In many cases this research engages with the experiences and outcomes of policies and programmes designed to mitigate institutional gaps and conditions of resource deficiency for these informal and often precarious enterprises. South Africa, as the second largest African economy after Nigeria, is no exception to this. Alternatively, however, little is known about the experiences of entrepreneurs in the formal sector and the effects of policies on them. This research engages with this, finding that while policies may be intended to mitigate some of the environmental challenges for South African entrepreneurs, in fact, implementation inefficiencies stymie the utility of much of the support formal businesses might receive.
