In the exercise of its powers and the performance of its functions to manage the business and affairs of the Agency, the Board must, subject to section 11—
| (a) |
implement the policy of the national government for small enterprise development inclusive of both financial and non-financial support services; |
| (b) |
design and implement a standard national delivery network that must uniformly apply throughout the Republic in respect of small enterprise development; |
| (i) |
facilitate the building of sustainable and competitive small enterprises; |
| (ii) |
facilitate the promotion of entrepreneurship; |
| (iii) |
facilitate the creation of an enabling operating environment for small enterprises; |
| (iv) |
facilitate access by small enterprises to financial resources, non-financial resources, capacity-building services, products and services; |
| (v) |
promote participation of historically disadvantaged persons in small enterprises; |
| (vi) |
facilitate international and national market access for products and services of small enterprises; |
| (vii) |
foster partnerships across all spheres of government, the private sector and relevant stakeholders to assist the Agency to achieve its objectives; |
| (viii) |
promote a service delivery network to facilitate access and outreach to development support for small enterprises; |
| (ix) |
facilitate and co-ordinate research relating to small enterprise support programmes; |
| (x) |
provide support in the implementation of the Small Enterprise Development Policy; |
| (xi) |
co-operate with, and assist, including through providing information, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and the Prudential Authority as defined in section 1(1) of the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017), in dealing with matters of mutual interest; |
| (xii) |
at the request of the Minister, investigate, advise on and comment on the effect of existing legislation and the impact of proposed legislation on small enterprises; and |
| (xiii) |
improve the understanding of the public regarding the contribution of small enterprises to inclusive economic growth, job creation and general welfare; |
| (d) |
establish provincial structures to ensure the effective implementation of its functions, including, subject to availability of resources, facilitating the devolution of such implementation at the municipal level; and |
| (e) |
conduct a public and transparent process, through its nominations committee, to make recommendations for appointments to the Board based on a matrix of skills, experience and diversity, which when considered collectively, enables them to attain the Agency’s prescribed objectives. |
[Section 13 substituted by section 4 of the National Small Enterprise Amendment Act, 2024 (Act No. 21 of 2024), GG50965, Notice No. 5049, dated 23 July 2024 - effective 1 October 2024 per Commencement Notice 190 of 2024]
Protection of Businesses Act, 1978
