Fundamentals of

Project Management&
Entrepreneurship
Chapter Four
Small business projects
Under the supervision of Dr. Elsayed Maher Khalaf
Instructor in the Department of Business Administration
Faculty of Commerce
University of Sadat City
(2023)
Prepared by Khloud Khalifa
 Introduction

First: An introduction.
Second: Defining small business projects and their
characteristics.
Third: The importance of small business projects.
Fourth: Small business areas of work.
Introduction:-
This chapter aims to identify a type of productive projects, which is
represented by small business projects.
The importance of small industries appears because of their features
that help achieve employment goals at accelerated rates and often in
the concentrations of these workers.
Accordingly, Egypt's reliance now on productive intermediate projects
and small projects is considered the most important strategic
alternatives presented now, and small projects can achieve more
dimensions in bringing about comprehensive economic development
because it is the industrial sector that can be spread geographically on a
comprehensive scale, covering rural and urban areas.
Second: Defining small business projects and their
characteristics:
Some intellectual debate revolves around the nature of small
business projects according to the dimension that is taken into
account, as some look at them in terms of the size of the project, in
terms of being related to production capacity, and others look at
them according to their type and level of technology used in the
industry, and the source of energy,
As he sees Some argue that the number of workers is the main
criterion for differentiating between small industries and others.
Where a small project is defined as a project that has at
least two of the following characteristics:
1- Independence of management (usually the managers
are the owners of the project).
2- Ownership and capital are represented by an
individual or a small group of individuals
3- The project operates in a local area and is not an
external activity
4- The project is relatively small in size compared to large
projects
So, Small business projects are defined as that type of
industry that employs 50 workers or less, which is the definition
taken by research centers specialized in the economics of small
industries in developing countries.

International organizations have defined international classifications

and standards for defining small businesses, whereby small business
units have been classified into three categories as follows:
1- Self-employment or sustenance activities:
These are activities carried out by the poorest people to earn their
livelihood in the absence of protection under the umbrella of social
security.
2- Craft projects or craftsmen:
These are activities that involve only the craftsman or the owner
himself, and the number of workers in such establishments rarely
exceeds 10 workers who usually carry out craft activities.

3- Small Enterprises:
They are more organized facilities, either service or industrial, and
there is no great mechanization in them, and fixed assets tend to be
minimal, and most of their activities are registered.
The following definitions of the different sizes of small
industrial enterprises can be found:

1- Small household project: "an individual project in the house that

employs less than five workers, who use manual equipment and local
production requirements and market its products to the family and
acquaintances."
2- Small craft project: "a workshop of sole proprietorship or partnership
employing less than ten workers, using simple equipment and local
production requirements, and marketing its products in the surrounding
area."
3- Small project: “a factory owned by a sole
proprietorship or company employing 10-50 workers,
using semi-automatic equipment and local or imported
production requirements, and marketing its products in
the local market primarily with the possibility of
export.”
The most important characteristics of small projects
are as follows:
1) There is no separation between ownership and management.
2) The entrepreneur's willingness to take risks.
3) The form of ownership is a sole proprietorship or a company of
persons.
4) The independence of the entrepreneur.
5) Project decisions are influenced by the personality of its owner.
6) Financing growth from internal sources.
7) It is very difficult to provide documents or financial statements.
8) Suffering due to tax problems.
9) Limited ability to produce for storage due to weak financial
resources
and lack of market control.
The importance of small business projects:
The importance of small business projects emerges from the role that these
projects can play in the following areas:
1) Contribute to the creation of new job opportunities: : these projects
provide a lot of job opportunities and generate income in Egypt.
2) Achieving economic integration: the small enterprise sector is
considered a producer of a group of direct consumption commodities
(food industries, dairy, furniture industries, and clothing).
3) Development and innovation: where skilled technical workers work
in these projects, with a large degree of efficiency.
4) Encouraging competition:: As the presence of small projects next to
large projects helps to pay attention to quality and competition among
them.
5) These projects constitute a source of demand for raw materials,
which are used in those industries according to their multiplicity and
diversity.
Fourth: Small business areas of work:
There are many areas in which the role of small business projects
increases, and the most important of these areas are the following:
1) Manufacturing: Although large-sized projects are considered the
main element in the field of industrial business.
And these projects appears prominently in several fields, including:
A) Areas of manufacturing agricultural products.
B) Leather products.
C) Food industries.
D) Wood industries.
2) Trade: the operations of distributing goods and delivering them to the
consumer are one of the most important areas in which the role of small
projects increases.

3) Services: It is considered one of the important fields in which small

sized projects play a major role. Examples of these projects are the
following:
A) Accounting and auditing offices.
B) Tourism offices.
C) Auto repair services.
D) Hotel services.
E) Radio and TV repair services.
Thank You For listening