Prof Niek Schoeman, currently the Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning and a former staff member of the Department of Economics and Dr Alex Antonites, a staff member of the Department of Business Management, were the academic architects behind the economics component of the Index, under the project management of Business Enterprises(BE@UP) with Consulta as the research partner. STATOMET provided statistical advice on all aspects of the research design and management which improved the quality of the research.

The Index is compiled on a quarterly basis with the inclusion of the following high-level indicators:

· Financial situation of the SMME

· Cash flow

· Operational costs

· Support from government and private sector

· Growth potential

The research sample covers a comprehensive industry distribution, including: agriculture, community (social and personal), electricity, gas and water, hospitality, mining, retail, motor, transport, financial, construction, manufacturing and wholesale.

Recent results published showed significant implications for SMME policy makers as 72% of the sampled businesses indicated that they don’t get adequate support from government. However, on a positive note, a large number of SMMEs indicated that they are expanding their businesses in terms of capacity in the following 12 months with obvious job creation to follow.

Prof Niek Schoeman	Dr Alex Antonites