Abstract
Small businesses are an important part of the South African economy, yet they
have high rates of failure. Several contributing factors have previously been identified through
literature, including regulatory compliance, skills shortages and lack of government support.
Globally, there has been an increased interest in smart cities and the variety of services they
offer. These technologies were investigated to establish what role, if any, they could play in
alleviating the challenges that small businesses face.
Aim: Identify the relative impact of each of these challenges on the small-business and the
relative value of each of the smart city services in order to determine which services would
have the largest impact in addressing the challenges.
Method: This research used these factors and identified which challenges had the largest time
and financial impact on small businesses and investigated ways in which a variety of smart
city services could be leveraged to address these challenges. Using a multi-criteria decision
analysis technique, 44 small-business owners participated in the research. Weighted results for
the impact of each of the challenges and the value of each of the services were obtained.