Capital structure and financing of SMEs : empirical evidence from Ghana and South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is made of stand-alone essays on the capital structure and financing of Small andMedium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana and South Africa. Chapter Two reviews issues onSME development in Ghana and South Africa. Chapter Three compares the capitalstructures of large, quoted firms and SMEs in Ghana. The results show that quoted firmsexhibit higher debt ratios than those of SMEs. The results suggest that age, size, assetstructure, and profitability of the firm affect the capital structures of quoted firms and SMEs.For the SME, it is evident that level of education and gender of the entrepreneur, industry,and location of the firm are also important in explaining their capital structure. Chapter Fourexamines the determinants of bank financing of SMEs in Ghana. The results reveal thatbank financing accounts for less than a quarter of SMEs' debt financing, with short-termbank credit representing the greater proportion of bank finance. The results show that age,size, asset tangibility, and growth of the firm have positive associations with long-term bankdebt, while profitability is negatively related to long-term bank debt. The short-term debtindicates a positive relationship with size, but negative relationships with profitability, andgrowth. Chapter Four also investigates the awareness and use of various financing schemesavailable to the Ghanaian SME sector. The results reveal low awareness and usage levels ofthese financing initiatives. Chapter Five explores the determinants of Ghanaian small andmedium sized non-traditional exporters' (NTEs) choice of formal/informal finance. Theresults show that NTEs depend on formal financing sources with bank finance representingthe greater percentage of NTEs' financing. The results suggest that, newer firms dependmore on formal finance and less on informal finance. The results show positive relationshipsbetween formal finance and size, and growth of the firm. Chapter Six assesses howcorporate governance affects the performance of SMEs in Ghana and what the implicationsare for financing opportunities. The results reveal that better corporate governancestructures lead to better performance of SMEs. The paper concludes that the adoption ofgood corporate governance structures could lead to better management decisions and enableSMEs to attract financing resources. Chapter Seven examines the relationship betweenagency factors and the capital structure of quoted SMEs in South Africa. The results indicatethat firms with one institutional blockholder are able to monitor the opportunistic behaviourof management more effectively than those with more than one institutional blockholders. Chapter Eight looks at the financial market and financing choice of SMEs and large firms inSouth Africa. The results indicate that developments in the financial market affect both longtermdebt/equity and short-term debt/equity decisions of large firms. However, for SMEs, itis the long-term debt/equity decision that is affected by the financial market. The final essayexamines the effect of debt policy on the performance of SMEs in Ghana and South Africa.The results indicate that long-term debt and total debt ratios negatively affect performanceof SMEs. These findings have important implications for policy-makers, entrepreneurs andmanagers of SMEs.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University