Masters Dissertation Aimed at Contributing to Development of SMMEs in SA

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Obtaining a Master of Commerce degree has enabled Marketing and Management academic Ms Lindiwe Kunene to fulfil her desire to contribute to the development of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa.

Her dissertation titled: “Brand Naming Strategies by Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises in the eThekwini Municipal Area”, sought to discover current processes being implemented by SMMEs in eThekwini, including knowledge on the role of linguistics in this process.

Kunene’s study was supervised by Dr Maxwell Phiri.

She is pleased with the outcome of her research as she feels it will benefit the SMME sector which often lacks the skills and the ability to conduct research before embarking on a business venture. She says academia plays a crucial role in bridging the knowledge gap through research aimed at enabling the SMME sector to prosper.

Kunene is following in the footsteps of her parents - her father is a retired academic who was involved in the Higher Education sector while her mother is a retired school teacher. Even though they were unable to witness her graduation, they were very pleased with her academic achievement which has also motivated her younger brother to consider pursuing tertiary studies.

‘I have started working on my PhD and hope to do my proposal presentation by the end of this year. I am doing this firstly for my own development, for SMMEs in my country, and not forgetting the University’s strategic goal to increase the number of academics with a PhD.

‘For us to be better academics and master our art, the secret lies in developing knowledge through research. We can thus not just practice what we preach but also that which we create.’

Kunene’s classroom interaction with her students is enriched by the invaluable insights she imparts to them from her experience of serving on two non-governmental boards in the creative arts and in rural economic development sectors.

She has taken heed to the call from the College management to disseminate academic knowledge by presenting her findings in 2014 at three conferences and closing off the year with her first international journal article. ‘I have opened the year with a motivational piece for SMMEs in South Africa in the January issue of the Entrepreneur Magazine. I will continue on this path and share knowledge wherever I can.’

Hazel Langa