An Assessment of Financial Management Skills of Minibus Taxi Operators in the Cape Town Metropole, South Africa

Small businesses play a major role in the economic development of a nation. Studies conducted on small businesses in South Africa reveal 75% of new small businesses created fail within the first two years of operation, citing improper financial management as one of the reasons for failure. Irrespective of failures of small businesses, the minibus taxi industry in South Africa continued growing, which does not absolve them from failure. This study assessed the financial management skills of minibus taxi operators in the Cape Town Metropole, to assess their financial management skills and awareness of support structures. The study also provides recommendations on the gaps identified to sustain their businesses and stay competitive. The study targeted minibus taxi operators in the Cape Town area and deployed a survey method in a form of questionnaires to gather data. 100 taxi operators were interviewed. Nine financial management activities were identified and an exploratory descriptive study using a survey was conducted on these activities. Cross tabulations and chi-square tests were used to analyze and interpret certain data of interest. The study confirmed minibus taxi operators have limited financial management skills and there was no statistical significance between the number of minibus taxis owned and the different financial management activities assessed. Recommendations are provided on training intervention needed to up-skill minibus taxi operators on those limited financial management skills to ensure better management of their finances.