SME South Africa is a professional community built for genuine South African business owners to connect, learn, and grow together. To keep it valuable for everyone, we ask all members to follow a few simple rules. This page explains what is and is not allowed, and what happens when the rules are broken.
What we encourage
- Genuine questions, insights, and lessons from running your business.
- Sharing wins, asking for advice, and helping other members.
- Conversation that adds value and keeps the discussion inside the community.
What counts as spam
Spam is content posted mainly to promote yourself or drive people away from the community, rather than to take part in it. This includes:
- Off-platform link farming — repeatedly posting links that push members to your social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp, etc.) instead of engaging here.
- Repetitive promotion — posting the same or similar promotional message multiple times a day.
- Adverts disguised as posts — sales pitches with no genuine intent to start a conversation.
- Irrelevant or bulk content that does not contribute to the community.
How the feed treats promotional posts
Our community feed automatically rewards genuine, engaging conversation and moves promotional posts and posts that link off-platform to the very end of the feed. Posting links to competitor or social platforms will reduce how visible your post is.
What happens if you break the rules
- Your posts may be hidden or removed.
- Repeat offenders are suspended — typically for 30 days. During a suspension, all of your posts are hidden and you cannot post or sign in.
- Serious or repeated abuse may result in permanent removal from the community.
Suspensions are about protecting the community, not punishing members. If you believe a decision was made in error, contact our team and we will review it.
A note on profile photos
Members are required to add a profile photo. Real faces build trust and accountability, and they are one of the simplest ways we keep the community genuine. See “Why your profile photo matters, and how to add yours” for the quick steps.
Thank you for helping us keep SME South Africa a professional, supportive space for entrepreneurs.