The Department of Economic Development should do the following . Reform the legal and regulatory framework which impacts negatively on SMME development. . Revisit Small Enterprise Development Agency's (SEDA) mandate. . Align incentives for SMME financing with other policy objectives e.g youth employment initiatives. . Review tendering processes and exclude politicians from being involved in tenders and from getting funds from Government. . Use partnerships with CIPRO and SARS more effectively for financing and regulatory support initiatives. . Create conditions conducive to venture capital development, perhaps use tax incentives to encourage risk taking. . Explore more innovative methods of ensuring that candidates are properly assessed and trained to ensure sound SMME management. . Engage in more partnerships with the private sector and banks to reach small businesses through innovative methods and the structure of financing needs to be simplified. . Establish an "SMME University" that is a centre of excellence which would create a forum of the country's best thinkers, together with stakeholders from the public and private sector and SMME's themselves. Such a university and the participants of this forum should adhere to best practices. . Avoid a culture of dependency but create one that makes businesses viable and self-sustaining. . Accelerate initiatives to make DFIs more accessible.