The use of e-business tools for enhancing business performance : a case of African immigrants in Cape Town

Abstract

This thesis explored the benefits of e-business and online tools used by African immigrants in Cape Town, South Africa with businesses in the clothing and textile retail industry. E-business and online tools comprise an important part of business in this era of the 4th industrial revolution. As such they are an important platform to explore. This research is exploratory in nature. The data were sourced from active African immigrant small business owners and managers by means of a qualitative inquiry. A random sample was used to identify 15 small businesses in the retail clothing and textile industry in Cape Town. The results indicated that African immigrants were aware of the value of e-business and online tools to enhance their businesses. There is a perception that these e-business and online tools are expensive and require huge capital. To encourage small business owners to deploy e-business and online tools, it is recommended that they create an online presence which will attract customers to their websites, social media pages and other online activities. Powerful tools such as e-tailing build loyalty and encourage repeated purchases, creating sustained community engagement, particularly in these times of Covid-19 which make face-to-face shopping difficult and dangerous.