Status and determinants of poverty among women-owned micro-businesses in Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia
Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy
ISSN: 1750-6204
Article publication date: 15 November 2022
Issue publication date: 13 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Micro-businesses contribute to economic development by improving individual welfare. Women are the primary drivers and owners of such businesses in urban Ethiopia. The purpose of this study is to investigate the poverty status and determinants among women-owned micro-businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
The basic study units were women who owned micro-businesses. A sample of 384 women-owned micro-business was chosen using a stratified and systematic random sampling technique. Thirty-six participants were purposely chosen for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. The poverty head count, poverty gap and poverty severity indices were computed to estimate poverty status. The major determinants of women’s poverty were investigated using a logistic regression model.
Findings
The overall poverty incidence, gap and severity were estimated to be 24.27%, 3.85%, and 1.11% respectively, among the women who owned micro-businesses. Eight of the 14 poverty determinants, including age, dependents, savings, remittance and the number of days and hours women work in their businesses, were found to have a significant effect on women’s poverty. The results suggest that local governments, technical and vocational training institutions should work together to reduce the impact of poverty-aggravating factors on women and increase the contribution of women-owned micro-businesses to poverty reduction.
Originality/value
This study addressed the poverty status of women who run micro-businesses, which is a crucial issue in Ethiopia’s urban context. It adds new knowledge to the issue of gendered economic participation, poverty reduction and poverty determinants in the Ethiopian context.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the European Union and the administrators of the BRTE (Building Resilience Through Education) program for funding this study. The authors would like to thank the women who actively contributed to the investigation by providing critical information. The authors would like to thank the enumerators for their tireless assistance in data collection. The authors would like to thank Professor Jim Kinsella, chair of the Research Student Panel (RSP) at University College Dublin, for his strong leadership and constructive suggestions. Finally, the authors would like to thank Professor Veland Ramadani (EIC-Journal of Enterprising Communities), two anonymous referees, and the Emerald Publishing article production team for their helpful suggestions and assistance.
Funding: This article is part of a PhD dissertation funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 778196. However, the contents of the study reflect only the authors’ views, and the agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Conflict of interests: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Citation
Ergo, A.E., Connor, D.O. and Mega, T.L. (2023), "Status and determinants of poverty among women-owned micro-businesses in Wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia", Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Vol. 17 No. 6, pp. 1439-1466. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-03-2022-0043
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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