South African Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) were first formally recognised by the South African government in 1996 through the publication of the National Small Business Act No. 102 of 1996. According to this Act, SMMEs are defined as follows:

"Separate and distinct business entit[ies], including cooperative enterprises and non-governmental organisations, managed by one owner or more which, including its branches or subsidiaries, if any, [are] predominantly carried on in any sector or subsector of the national economy"

Over the years, legislation affecting South African SMMEs were updated twice - in 2003 (National Small Business Amendment Act No. 26 of 2003) and 2019 (Revised Schedule 1 of the National Definition of Small Enterprise in South Africa). At present, South African SMMEs are classified as either "micro", "small" or "medium" based on the number of full-time employees employed and/or their total annual turnover. I have also published a summary of the foregoing.

South African SMMEs are responsible for decreasing unemployment, sharing wealth, reducing poverty and boosting the national economy. Unfortunately, the bulk of these business entities fail after being in operation for only three years.

Internal control is both a function of Internal Auditing and Management. From a technical perspective, internal control is the logical sequence which is realised by relevant organisational stakeholders that are charged with governance , which comprises inter-connected elements and activities that aid in the mitigation of risks. Alternatively stated, internal control is directly associated with the prevention of risks, the detection of risks and the correction of realised risks.

Not only should internal control prevent risks, detect risks and correct realised risks, but it should also provide reasonable assurance surrounding the achievement of organisational objectives in the foreseeable future. In business - generally - internal control is best implemented by the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations' Integrated Internal Control Framework (last updated in 2013).

Considering limited research on internal control frameworks for South African SMMEs, I developed the Sustenance Framework and the Sustenance Framework (updated edition).