A nook store in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Small companies may benefit from sharing sources, like electrical energy. Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
Worldwide, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seen because the spine of a thriving financial system. They make up a considerable portion of the overall variety of corporations and are estimated to contribute over 87% of all jobs globally.
A latest World Economic Forum report confirmed that main disruptions have an effect on the worth chain of SMEs considerably greater than they have an effect on bigger enterprises. Disruptions, akin to COVID-19 and geo-political tensions, typically result in failure amongst these companies.
In South Africa, an instance of a major danger to SMEs is the acute scarcity of energy. Power outages imply that they’ll’t function. No manufacturing or commerce is feasible, and stock is broken. The enterprises can’t plan and execute their operations successfully, or meet the calls for of their prospects. They can lose income and prospects.
South Africa’s acute energy shortages are more likely to go on for a while. But we consider that the idea of the sharing financial system holds promise to minimise disruptions.
The idea relies on sharing and collaborating via digital platforms inside a group with related traits. In our view, primarily based on the work from our doctoral analysis specialising within the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises, we argue that small and medium enterprises might use platforms like this to minimise the hostile results of the continued energy cuts.
For instance, they might share power era infrastructure akin to cellular battery storage models, transportable mills and photo voltaic panels.
In addition, by sharing sources and gear, SMEs might scale back operational prices and improve their resilience within the face of energy cuts. The sharing financial system might additionally assist them join with different companies of their group, creating new alternatives for collaboration and partnerships.
Where it’s labored
There are examples of this method working elsewhere.
SonnenCommunity is a sharing financial system platform that permits owners with a battery-based power storage system to share their extra power with group members. It’s utilized in a bunch of nations, together with Germany, Australia, the US, Italy and the UK.
Members of this group are related via a digital platform that allows power commerce and communication between members.
Another instance is Gridmate. This is a peer-to-peer energy-sharing platform permitting individuals to donate power to these in want.
In the South African context power era infrastructure could possibly be shared amongst group members with totally different scheduled energy cuts. This might embrace transportable mills and cellular battery storage models.
However, for the system to work, communities establishing this association should be in shut proximity to 1 one other. This is as a result of the scheduled energy cuts – generally known as load shedding – are usually arrange in a approach that one zone can have energy, whereas one other has its energy reduce.
For this concept to work, the zones or load shedding blocks with complementary energy outage schedules must be in shut proximity to one another.
The entire course of is powered by digital platforms that facilitate sharing. For instance, a digital platform could possibly be arrange by native enterprise boards the place there could possibly be shared buying, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, and promotion of collective consumption.
The potential of the sharing financial system in small and medium enterprises
Power outages are having a ripple impact on the financial system. They are inflicting delays within the supply of products and providers, affecting client confidence, and in the end resulting in a decline in financial progress.
For some small and medium enterprises, load shedding is a life-and-death situation. The sharing financial system would enable them to proceed making a dwelling.
This is especially true for companies working in deprived communities. These typically face further challenges in accessing power resulting from location, restricted infrastructure, monetary constraints and different components. A extra reasonably priced and equitable power system would enable companies to share sources and infrastructure.
The authors don’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that might profit from this text, and have disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.
