The relatively low economic growth and the high unemployment rate in South Africa, largely induced entrepreneurship and business formation and growth. In response to the renewed focus on business development and increased demand for business information on, among others, the number of South African business entities by province, turnover group, industry, gross operating surplus, employment, entrepreneurial activities and business formation and the legal status of businesses, the BMR established a Business Research Unit (BRU). Whereas the formal business sector is the primary focus of the BRU, its main activities are devoted to the construction of a business database containing information from various secondary data sources on the mentioned business variables in a time-series format to allow trend and structural analysis. In terms of the informal sector, the BRU conducts informal sector area specific studies on behalf of clients including institutional and commissioned research. In fact, the BRU has started to embark on a dedicated business research and modelling programme with specific emphasis on integrating business dynamics into a sectoral and macroeconomic model. The unit operates as a syndicated business research unit consisting of sponsor members that qualify for client specific data packaging and interpretation as well as in-house presentations and workshops.