Abstract: “Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry play a pivotal role in addressing worldwide chronic challenges such as unemployment, inequality and poverty. In South Africa, small to medium emerging contractors in the construction sector experience a substantial failure rate despite their notable socio-economic impacts. Thus, emerging contractors have not yielded any significant growth in the previous years. Numerous contracting businesses have closed, leading their owners to pursue opportunities in different sectors. This pattern emphasizes the ongoing difficulties that emerging contractors in not only South Africa but also other African countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana are facing. To address these challenges, the South African government has put in place different policies and programs to help small contractors thrive. Still, advancement is sluggish, as the rate of failure continues to be alarmingly high.”

Keywords: Substainable business growth, emerging contractors, eThekwini municipality