Black Business Development In South Africa PDF Download

One of the most under-appreciated consequences of the transition from apartheid to non-racial democracy in South Africa is the unprecedented rise in the number and relative economic and political power of black entrepreneurs in various sectors of the economy from which they were previously excluded by over 800 laws and by social conventions. This change is occurring probably faster than was the case for previously excluded populations in the United States, Brazil, Malaysia, and certainly in Namibia, Zimbabwe and even several other non-settler African countries at comparable periods in their post-liberation experiences. This runs counter to the deafening but short-sighted claims that black business development or "black economic empowerment" (BEE) specifically, has benefited a few politically-connected "fat cats." Along with about 400,000 new black entrants into the salaried middle classes each year, black entrepreneurs are darkening the face of South Africa's economy, even though wealth is still disproportionately concentrated in the hands of the 9 percent white minority. Yet, a balanced and long-term view of these transformations suggests that the rise of black enterprise into the economic mainstream will have tremendous implications for black political struggles and for South Africa's democracy overall.