QUALITATIVE DATA
6.3 General SME and Biographical Information
This section discusses biographical and demographic information of the participants in the focus group interviews who represented their informal manufacturing SMEs. Information about gender, age, marital status, education, the category of the informal manufacturing sector, number of employees, years of operation, designation in the business, whether the business is an exporter and the value of annual sales is presented. Previous studies on informal SMEs have shown, these
Harare 22.7%
Bulawayo 22.7%
Gweru 18.2%
Masvingo 18.2%
Mutare 18.2%
6.3.1 Gender of the Respondents in the Focus Group Interviews
Interviewees were given a question to indicate their gender. The rationale was to determine if there was gender balance in the informal manufacturing categories being involved in focus group interviews. Figure 6-2 shows the gender of the respective participants involved in the focus group interviews.
Figure 6-2: Gender of the Respondents in the Focus Group Interviews
Source: Own, 2017
Figure 6-2 shows that 25 (56.8%) male informal manufacturing SMEs owners, managers, non- management were involved in the study while 19 (43.2%) of those who participated were female.
It is of paramount importance to examine the gender composition of those involved in the informal manufacturing SMEs focus group interviews because it is known that gender has a great influence on the sector in which an entrepreneur might try to venture into. This finding shows that in this representative sample there were more males involved in informal manufacturing SMEs than females. This is supported by Mhone (1993), who points out that men tend to be involved in complex and relatively bigger industries than their female counterparts and that men contributed more than 50% of income than typically those SMEs run by women who supplement the family income.
6.3.2 Age Groups of Participants
The interviewees were asked which age group they fell in. This information was important to establish the relationship between the age group of the participants and the challenges faced by the informal SMEs. The age distribution of the participants was as follows: 16-25 (2) 4.5%, 26 -
Male 57%
Female 43%
Figure 6-3: Age Group of Participants.
Source: Own, 2017
The findings revealed that the largest age group category is the 46-55 years with 38.6%, then the 36-45 years with 36.4% and the smallest age group was the 16-25 years with 4.5%. Results indicate greater participation in the informal sector of the 46-55 (38%) and 36-45 (36.4%) age groups. This is the age group which typically have increased family responsibility and would thus be more inclined to explore informal business opportunities as a means of generating income in a country with such high unemployment.
6.3.3 Marital Status of Participants
The respondents who participated in the focus group interviews were asked to indicate their marital status. Five (5) categories of marital status were established: single, married, in partnership, divorced and widowed. The rationale was to enable the researcher to compare the responses of married participants to those who are unmarried or divorced and to note any difference in their inputs.
,0 5,0 10,0 15,0 20,0 25,0 30,0 35,0 40,0
16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65
Age 4,5
11,4
36,4 38,6
Percentage 9,1
Figure 6-4: Marital Status of Participants
Source: Own, 2017
Figure 6-4 shows that the majority of the respondents (16) 36.4% were married while (9) 20.5%
were divorced, (8) 18.2% were in partnership, (6) 13.6% were widowed and (5) 11.4% were single. The finding shows that married couples purse and use informal manufacturing SMEs for employment and revenue generation for their families. Birley and Westhead (1990), points out that couples who are married work harder and have better performance at managing a business because of family responsibilities and the psychological support they receive from the community.
6.3.4 Educational Level of Participants
The participants involved in the focus group interviews were asked a question to indicate the level of their highest educational qualification. The rationale was to assess the informal manufacturing SMEs owner’s/manager’s level of education and the challenges facing those SMEs as well. In this case, eight (8) broad categories of the level of educational qualification were used. These categories were high school, certificate, diploma, degree, honours, masters and doctorate (PhD).
The results indicate that most of the respondents had diplomas (23) 52.3%, then certificates (14) 31.8%, high school (3) 6.8% as well as a degree (3) 6.8% and honours (1) 2.3% There were no participants with masters and doctorates involved in the informal manufacturing sector as shown in Figure 6-5 below.
Single 11.4%
Married 36.4%
In partnership 18.2%
Divorced 20.5%
Widowed 13.6%
Figure 6-5: Educational Level of Participants
Source: Own, 2017
The above results are supported by the ILO (2004), which concluded that at least over 50% of the informal SMEs owners had completed their high school education. In addition, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) (2011), confirms that the level of education enhances the individual’s willingness and ability to start the small business and the possibility of the business to survive beyond the start-up phase.
6.3.5 Categories of the Informal Manufacturing SMEs
Participants were asked a question to show the category of the informal manufacturing SMEs their business was operating in. This information was necessary to ascertain a relationship that exists between gender, educational level and the informal manufacturing SMEs sub-sectors in the study. The results indicate that the majority of the participants, (10) 22.7% are in the food, bakery and confectionery processing, then (9) 20.5% in the textile and garment making,
,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 50,0 60,0
High school Certificate Diplom Degree Honours Education
6,8
31,8
52,3
6,8
2,3
Percentage
Figure 6-6: Categories of the Informal Manufacturing SMEs
Source: Own, 2017
6.3.6 Number of Employees in the Informal Manufacturing SMEs
Interviewees were asked a question on the number of employees that they employ. The information was required to establish the size of the informal SMEs. Seven (7) broad categories of the number of people employed were established as follows; 1-10 employees, 11-20 employees, 21-30 employees, 31-40 employees, 41-50 employees, 51-60 employees and 61+
employees. The finding shows that the majority of the informal manufacturing SMEs 34 (77%) have between 1-10 employees and 10 (23%) had between 11-20 employees. There were no informal manufacturing SMEs with more than 21 employees as shown in Figure 6-7.
Figure 6-7: Number of Employees in the Informal Manufacturing SMEs ,0
5,0 10,0 15,0 20,0 25,0
Food, Bakery and confectionary processing Toiletry Making Textile and garment making Leather and rubber making Engineering /Foundry and metal fabrication Timber and furniture making
Sector 22,7
11,4
20,5
13,6 15,9 15,9
Percentage
1-10 77%
11-20 23%
6.3.7 Number of Years of Operation in the Informal SMEs
Respondents were asked questions about the number of years they have been operating. Eleven (11) broad categories were provided as follows: 1-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15 years, 16-20 years, 21-25 years, 26-30 years, 31-35 years, 36-40 years, 41-45 years, 46-50 years and 51+ years.
Findings indicate, that (25) 56.8% of the informal manufacturing SMEs were between 6-10 years old, (10) 22.7% were between 1-5 years, (8) 18.2% were between 11-15 years while (1) 2.3%
were in the 16-20 years. The results are presented in Figure 6-8.
Figure 6-8 Number of Years of Operation in the Informal SMEs
Source: Own, 2017
These results confirm that most of the businesses are in the start-up phase and the majority are not lasting for than 20 years.
,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 50,0 60,0
1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20
Years operating 22,7
56,8
18,2
2,3
Percentage