Digital Platforms for SMME Enablement

The challenges facing SMME's are diverse ranging from skills challenges to value chain optimization, concept management and operations management. The entrepreneur navigates a typical SMME cycle from idea generation to sustainable business single-handed. Each phase of SMME development is a challenge but is not unique to the individual SMME. Financial management, marketing, logistics, people management and general strategy to execution against challenges are endured and overcome by SMME's. SMME’s form the majority of businesses, in most economies and is a source of GDP growth. SMME failure rates are high across the globe with significant challenges to survive. Innovation centers, incubation models and various other interventions have impacted SMME survival but more should be done. The research presented in this paper revolves around a theoretical digital platform for SMME sustainability. The platform is evolutionary and based on large corporate processes and systems, subdued and modified for SMME support. Core SMME processes are digitalized and provide for a single strategy. The evolutionary platform builds over time and evolves to an intuitive digital SMME support system. An initial literature analysis leading onto a theoretical SMME framework and systems dynamics model is presented.