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Innovation has been discerned as a catalyst that enables firms to remain relevant and sustainable. In recent years, the innovation discipline has been extended to the informal sector. Nonetheless, to date little is known about the process that is followed by informal micro-enterprises to execute innovation activity in each innovation phase. Thus, this study sought to establish an understanding of the process that is followed by informal micro-enterprises to execute innovation activity in each innovation phase. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design to sequentially collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data from informal micro-enterprises that are based in the townships of the Gauteng province. The study revealed that credible customer assemblies are used to acquire knowledge and information necessary to execute innovation activity and to test innovations before they are launched in the market. Moreover, while informal micro-enterprises mostly use internal resources to transform innovative ideas into innovations, coopetition relationships aid to foster open innovation and limit the strain on internal resources. The findings suggest that informal micro-enterprises innovate differently from formal small businesses and there is a need for researchers and the government to introduce policies and initiatives to enhance open innovation in the informal sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was conducted to evaluate the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the socioeconomic status of South African women. There is an urgent need for a better understanding of the unique circumstances and provisional assistance of effective support for women throughout the Covid-19 crisis and its aftermath considering the level of impact the virus had on women. To achieve the researchobjective, a literaturebased analysis was employed, which provides an in-depth analysis and evaluation of previous literature on the unprecedented nature and trend of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts on the socioeconomic status of women in South Africa. Thus, despite the limited scientific data on the most recent development of the pandemic, the findings revealed that the pandemic has escalated most variables of socioeconomic status of women in South Africa, which include high poverty rates, increased rates of unplanned pregnancy, school drop-out of schoolgirls and child labour among teenage girls, lack of income, decreased financial empowerment, reduced access to conducive healthcare, excessive maternal mortality, and growing food shortages and malnutrition. Thus, as the world continues to search for a reliable vaccine and other preventive measures for the virus, this paper recommended that policymakers and stakeholders around the globe, and most especially in South Africa, should develop coherent and strategic policies that will incorporate and attend to the socioeconomic needs of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to identify the level of financial literacy among South African households and statistically ascertain the impact of financial literacy variables on household savings behaviour. Quantitative research was conducted to achieve these objectives, where data was collected from the employees of City of Tshwane and Mahikeng Municipality. A cluster analysis was employed to identify the group cluster of respondents. In addition, a Path Coefficient analysis was conducted to identify the significance of financial literacy on household savings behaviour. The study's findings revealed that the respondents have a reasonable level of financial literacy, which is in line with the conceptual findings of previous literatures. Secondly, it was ascertained that variables under financial control, financial planning, financial knowledge, and understanding positively impact household savings behaviour. Meaning that the more they are familiar with these variables, the more they are likely to save. On the contrary, the variables under the construct of knowledge of financial products and services were identified to impact household savings behaviour negatively, meaning that the more they are knowledgeable on financial products and services, the lesser they are likely to save. Hence, it was concluded that stakeholders and policymakers in charge of financial and savings literacy in South Africa should incorporate these identified positive variables of financial literacy into their savings campaign programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature revealed that 70–80% of South African small businesses, including informal micro-enterprises, fail in the first year of their existence. Innovation has been recognized as a catalyst that can enhance informal micro-enterprises' probabilities to survive and transform them from survivalists to sustainable businesses that grow the economy and create jobs. As far as it can be reasonably determined, there has not been a systematic review of the literature on innovation activities of informal micro-enterprises in the Gauteng province, South Africa. This study aims to present a systematic review of the literature, as well as research gaps identified in the literature, and future research opportunities. This paper thus systematically reviews the literature on innovation activities of informal micro-enterprises in the Gauteng province. The study revealed that the innovation capacity of informal micro-enterprises is severely hampered by innovation tradition and social tax. Subsequently, informal micro-enterprises engage less in innovation activity and those that do innovate often engage in incremental rather than radical innovation. Radical innovations are more crucial than incremental innovations. Thus, there is a need for researchers and government organizations to establish initiatives that can aid the informal micro-enterprises to engage more in radical innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provision of education in South Africa during the apartheid regime was poor, particularly for the African population and especially those living in the homelands. This has hindered those lacking the required skills from obtaining lucrative employment and earning prospects. The Income and Expenditure Survey data conducted by Statistics South Africa, for the period 1995, 2000, 2005/06 and 2010/11 were used to carry out this investigation. The official absolute income poverty lines of R3864 (lower bound) and R7116 (upper bound) per annum in 2000 prices were used. In order to establish the relationship between education and poverty status of an individual, a probit regression model was used. This model helped to determine the relationship between the head of a household's level of education and the poverty status of the household. The results obtained reveal that there is a strong tendency for lower educational attainment to be associated with a higher prevalence of household poverty. This study aims at investigating the impact of a household head's educational attainment level on the poverty status of the individual household in South Africa, using Limpopo province as a case study. This study seeks to establish whether education has an effect on poverty alleviation in Limpopo province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to examine the empirical relationship between trade and total factor productivity (TFP) in the agricultural sector using both cross - sectional, (across nine agricultural commodities), and time-series analysis. The ordinary least square (OLS) results from the cross -sectional analysis confirm that export shares and capital formation were found to be positive and significant; whereas, import shares and real exchange rate were found to be related negatively. However, the net effect of export and import shares had a positive effect. This implies that trade liberalisation causes productivity gains. Moreover, the time -series analysis goes in the same direction as the cross - sectional results, showing that there is a robust relationship among TFP, degree of openness, and capital formation. Whereas, debt was found to be inversely related, this implies that agricultural industries / farmers lack debt management skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]