BUSINESS LICENSING: NEWLY GAZETTED POLICY EXPECTED TO REDUCE RED TAPE

BUSINESS LICENSING: NEWLY GAZETTED POLICY EXPECTED TO REDUCE RED TAPE

• 27 June 2025
• Small Business Development
• SA Legal Academy

The Department of Small Business Development has gazetted a business licensing policy intended to streamline the processes entailed across national, provincial and municipal government – thus ‘ensuring regulatory consistency and improved compliance’. This is according to a media statement on the 28 May 2025 Cabinet meeting at which the policy was approved, having been released in draft form in March 2024 for public comment.

The statement also notes that, ‘by introducing clear guidelines and a preferential licensing regime, the policy ‘promotes economic inclusion for micro, small and medium enterprises and historically disadvantaged groups in targeted sectors, while reserving certain business activities exclusively for South African-owned enterprises’.

In addition, with the aim of modernising the business licensing system, the policy provides for the establishment of an ‘electronic licensing portal’, which will replace ‘outdated manual processes’ with ‘a more efficient and transparent digital platform’. This reform is expected not only to reduce ‘administrative fragmentation’ but also to support ‘a more business-friendly environment’ – ‘driving equitable growth and broader participation in the economy’.

• policy
• 28 May 2025 Cabinet statement

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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