Microenterprise Development in Sub-Saharan Africa : Issues, Constraints, Challenges and implications for Sustainable Economic Development

In this study, three objectives were set: to identify the factors inhibiting the growth and development of microenterprises among SSA countries; to evaluate the level of institutional support for microenterprises currently; and to explore the implications of an underdeveloped microenterprise category for most SSA countries vis-à-vis the aspirations of sustainable economic development. Primary data were generated through multistage sampling technique, involving two sampling stages. Two sets of questionnaires were distributed through trained field officers. The first stage was the pilot stage. It involved the distribution of unstructured questionnaire to 50 microentrepreneurs. This was a ‘fill-in' questionnaire. The respondents were asked to fill-in their responses to the questions as they appealed to them and to the best of their ability, in their own words. These responses were then used to develop the main questionnaire which was used at the second stage of the sampling. This was distributed to 2000 microentrepreneurs. The data generated were carefully analyzed. The objective of identifying the factors affecting microenterprises development was realized using the multivariate discriminant analysis, MDA. Out of the 9 variables analyzed, 8 were identified as significantly affecting microenterprise development. These factors include the lack of modern equipment, government policies, and the lack of finance/capital. The two other obj ectives were achieved using a combination of secondary materials from other researchers and materials from the survey. It was clear that there were more than enough support institutions but they were not accessible to microentrepreneurs due to some forms of information asymmetries or ignorance. It was also explained that a neglect of microenterprises and their roles in the economy will further push countries of Sub-Saharan Africa further away from their aspirations of sustainable economic development. The recommendation is that SSA countries should see the development of microenterprises as matter of priority or face the consequences of neglect