Abstract
This research study aimed to determine an effective model of the City of Johannesburg Opportunity Centres to promote inclusive economic development. Implementing the model will be instrumental in supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses at the City of Johannesburg Opportunity Centres to address unemployment, which remains the city's major structural economic challenge. At the centre of the problem of unemployment in the city is a misalignment between the skills available to the city from its population and the type of skills required by the labour market in the city. The problem is compounded by the job creation efforts that have benefited mainly highly skilled workers as opposed to low-skilled workers and workers in labour-intensive industries such as agriculture, tourism and manufacturing. As a result, job creation efforts have fallen short of being inclusive, exacerbating an existing problem of the City of Johannesburg as one of the cities in the world that lacks inclusivity. The City of Johannesburg Opportunity Centres aim to promote inclusive economic development through dedicated support for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
To address the problem, the study explored the challenges and opportunities presented by the City of Johannesburg Opportunity Centres' current model in promoting inclusive economic development. It also investigated the extent to which the current model contributes to inclusive economic development and what services the Opportunity Centres should provide to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the city. Additionally, the study examined the key factors to consider in determining an effective model for the City of Johannesburg Opportunity Centres to promote inclusive economic development.
A mixed-method research design and triangulation were used to collect data. This study included a survey of small businesses that make use of the services offered by the City of Johannesburg Opportunity Centres. Among these businesses, 83% employed one to three people, while the remaining 17% employed four to fifteen people. The study's findings reveal various binding constraints limiting the effectiveness of the current model of the City of Johannesburg Opportunity Centres in promoting inclusive economic development. The constraints are at different levels, mainly local, regional and national. In addition, the findings highlight numerous...