Sunstainability of rural small business amidst power cuts in Tshilamba Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Dependable electricity is crucial for economic development and business reliability. Notably, case studies in South Africa illustrate the significant impacts of energy insecurity. This study investigated the sustainability of rural small businesses in Tshilamba village, Limpopo province of South Africa, in the face of ongoing power cuts to suggest adaptive strategies to improve their sustainability. The explanatory research design was utilized to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. This study sampled 42 small rural businesses using simple random sampling and distributed questionnaires to them. Five key informants from the Thulamela local municipality were selected for semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling. Findings indicated that in Tshilamba village, 48% of businesses either ceased operations during outages or relied on environmentally harmful backup options. The literature additionally highlighted the disruptive effects of energy instability on productivity, cost frameworks and business security. This study concluded that rural small businesses in Tshilamba village did not meet sustainability standards. Therefore, it suggested a holistic strategy to boost sustainability in rural enterprises, involving greater investment in renewable energy, reforms in policies and better cooperation among stakeholders.