Micro and Small-Scale Enterprises in Humera Town, Tigray Region: Opportunities and Challenges

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Date

2010-02

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

MSEs play the role of mobilizing fragmented as well as small-sized capital of individuals and channel it to the pool of investment. They utilize and adequately mobilize local resources. An effective mobilization of resources also leads to the creation of ample employment opportunity for skilled and unskilled work forces. MSEs satisfy the market demand of the poor as they offer relatively cheaper commodities to the market. Despite this fact, the MSEs are characterized by a range of problems that is hampering their day to day operation and the overall development of the sector. The objective of this study is to assess the opportunities and challenges of MSEs in Humera town. That is, it explores employment and income creation role, the opportunities that are utilized by the enterprises and the problems that inhibit the growth of MSEs. The findings indicated that, the activity of supporting institutions in terms of training, credit service arrangement, and availing work place were found to be very poor. The most crucial and leading constraints revealed by the study are infrastructural problems (electric power, water shortage and mobile telephone network), shortage of working capital, lack of work premise, and input price instability, in that order. Arranging training programs (including consultancy and supervIsIOn services), creating conducive link between MSEs and financial institutions, create business clusters (so as to manage the infrastructure, work premise and collateral problems) are indicated as better solutions.

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Keywords

Micro and Small-Scale

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