Image: supplied As South Africa continues to navigate a complex economic environment, new insights from the SAB Foundation offer a grounded view of how small businesses are adapting, building resilience, and creating opportunity across the country.
The SAB Foundation’s 2025 Impact Report brings together ten years of data and lived experience from entrepreneurs supported between January 2015 and March 2025. Drawing on annual assessments across the Foundation’s entrepreneurship, rural development, social innovation, and disability empowerment programmes, the report highlights practical lessons about what enables small businesses to endure, grow, and deliver meaningful economic and social impact.
One finding stands out: 90% of entrepreneurs supported by the SAB Foundation remain in operation five years later, a strong indicator of what sustained, well-designed support can achieve over time.
“The Impact Report is a key learning tool for us,” says Sarah Mthintso, Executive Director of the SAB Foundation. “While the data is self-reported, the consistency of the patterns allows us to understand what kinds of support are making a difference, where further attention is needed, and how we can continue to strengthen our approach alongside entrepreneurs.”
The 2025 Impact Report points to several emerging trends across the small business landscape:
Resilience built through sustained support
Entrepreneurs operating in challenging environments are showing strong levels of durability over time. The data suggests that access to ongoing mentorship, relevant business development support, and appropriate funding plays a meaningful role in helping businesses remain operational and adapt as conditions change.
Growing activity in rural and peri-urban economies
Nearly 88% of businesses supported by the SAB Foundation are based in rural and peri-urban areas. Across programmes such as the Rural Catalyst Programme, Township Energy Fund, and Tholoana Enterprise Programme, entrepreneurs report improvements in production, infrastructure, and local employment, particularly in provinces such as Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
Women and youth shaping enterprise growth
Women make up 67% of supported entrepreneurs, while 45% are youth-led businesses. These enterprises are contributing to job creation and income generation while also expanding participation in entrepreneurship among groups that have historically faced barriers to entry.
Disability-led innovation gaining momentum
Enterprises led by people with disabilities, as well as those developing solutions that improve accessibility, are showing positive growth outcomes. Through the Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards and related funding mechanisms, supported businesses report strong job growth and increasing demand for their products and services.
Impact that extends beyond the business
Across programmes, entrepreneurs report more than 21 500 jobs sustained or created, with an estimated 86 000 people benefiting indirectly. The data highlights how stable enterprises often support extended households and contribute to local economic activity beyond the immediate business.
The value of long-term engagement
The report reinforces the importance of sustained engagement with entrepreneurs beyond once-off funding. Access to mentorship, peer networks, mental health support, market access initiatives, and alumni networks is consistently associated with stronger business confidence and longer-term growth.
Wendy Simunyu, the SAB Foundation’s Impact Specialist, notes that these outcomes reflect the value of combining financial and non-financial support. “When entrepreneurs receive consistent, practical support over time, it helps them navigate uncertainty, make better decisions, and build businesses that are more resilient in the long run.”
Looking ahead
Taken together, the insights from the Impact Report suggest that long-term, relationship-based support plays an important role in enabling small businesses to contribute to employment, income generation, and inclusive economic growth.
“Our entrepreneurs are building businesses within real constraints,” Mthintso adds. “Our role is to continue learning from what works, to remain responsive, and to ensure that the support we offer strengthens their ability to create opportunity for themselves and their communities.” DM
The SAB Foundation 2025 Impact Report is available.
About the SAB Foundation
Founded in 2010, the SAB Foundation provides funding for small, medium and micro-sized enterprises to contribute to the economic and social empowerment of historically disadvantaged persons through entrepreneurship development. The SAB Foundation’s primary beneficiaries are women, youth, people with disabilities and people living in rural areas. To date more than R891 million has been invested in social innovation, disability empowerment and SMMEs.