Rural entrepreneurship and the context: navigating contextual barriers through women's groups

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Semkunde ◽  
Tumsifu Elly ◽  
Goodluck Charles ◽  
Johan Gaddefors ◽  
Linley Chiwona-Karltun
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Women's Groups ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Time Poverty ◽  
Rural Entrepreneurship ◽  
Women’S Groups ◽  
Contextual Barriers

PurposeThis study aims to examine how women's groups help women to navigate context-related barriers to their engagement in rural entrepreneurship. The paper combines the contextualisation of entrepreneurship framework and the feminist separatist theory to describe how women's groups in patriarchal rural communities enable women to circumvent context-related barriers and actively engage in rural entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachBased on a case study of 12 women's groups engaged in paddy farming, rice processing and marketing in rural Tanzania, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with 46 women, four focus group discussions, four in-depth key informant interviews and non-participant observation.FindingsRural women face unique context-related challenges that hinder them from effectively participating in rural entrepreneurship. Specifically, limited access to farmlands and profitable markets, lack of business networks, limited time, poverty and insufficient financial resources constrain women's engagement in entrepreneurship. To overcome these contextual barriers, rural women have organised themselves into groups to gain access to business services, business-related training, grants and business networks.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the existing literature on contextualising entrepreneurship by focussing on how rural contexts may constrain women's entrepreneurial engagement while showing how women respond to contextual barriers that enable them to participate in rural entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsThis study shows that women with low education can pursue rural entrepreneurship if they are supported through training and access to networks. This will support the performance of these groups of women.Originality/valueThis study offers new insights into the role of women's groups in navigating gender-related constraints that hinder women from participating in rural entrepreneurship within the patriarchal context of low-income countries. Thus, new perceptions for the gender and rural entrepreneurship theory and the policy implications thereof are proffered.

scholarly journals Effects of integrated economic and health interventions with women’s groups on health-related knowledge, behaviours and outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e046856
Author(s):  
Sapna Desai ◽  
Kala M Mehta ◽  
Roopal Jyoti Singh ◽  
Allie K Westley ◽  
Osasuyi Dirisu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Women's Groups ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Women’S Groups ◽  
Health Related

IntroductionEconomic groups, such as microfinance or self-help groups are widely implemented in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Women’s groups are voluntary groups, which aim to improve the well-being of members through activities, such as joint savings, credit, livelihoods development and/or health activities. Health interventions are increasingly added on to existing women’s economic groups as a public health intervention for women and their families. Here, we present the protocol for a mixed-methods systematic review we will conduct of the evidence on integrated economic and health interventions on women’s groups to assess whether and how they improve health-related knowledge, behaviour and outcomes in LMICs.Methods and analysisWe will search seven electronic databases for published literature, along with manual searches and consultation. The review will include (1) randomised trials and non-randomised quasiexperimental studies of intervention effects of integrated economic and health interventions delivered through women’s groups in LMICs, and (2) sibling studies that examine factors related to intervention content, context, implementation processes and costs. We will appraise risk of bias and study quality using standard tools. High and moderate quality studies will be grouped by health domain and synthesised without meta-analysis. Qualitative evidence will be thematically synthesised and integrated into the quantitative synthesis using a matrix approach.Ethics and disseminationThis protocol was reviewed and deemed exempt by the institutional review board at the American Institutes for Research. Findings will be shared through peer-reviewed publication and disseminated with programme implementers and policymakers engaged with women’s groups.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020199998.

Food expenditure responses to income/expenditure shocks in rural China

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Cui ◽  
Jikun Huang
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Food Expenditures ◽  
Chinese Study ◽  
Food Expenditure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low Income Households

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of large income and expenditure shocks on household food expenditures and determines whether the impacts of large shocks differ among households, especially low-income households. Design/methodology/approach The study’s data are drawn from a household survey conducted in rural China. Multivariate analysis examines the impacts of large income and expenditure shocks on food expenditures. Findings The impacts of large positive income shocks on food expenditure are moderate. However, households reduce their per capita food expenditures within a range of about 25-30 percent after suffering large negative shocks. The greatest impact is found for shocks where expenditures more than double, followed by the impact of shocks where income declines by more than half. Moreover, food expenditures among low-income households are much more sensitive to large negative income and expenditure shocks. The paper concludes with policy implications. Originality/value This is the first Chinese study to empirically examine the impacts of different income and expenditure shocks on household food expenditures. The results have important implications for smoothing households’ food consumption after they suffer from shocks.

scholarly journals Effects of community health worker interventions on socioeconomic inequities in maternal and newborn health in low-income and middle-income countries: a mixed-methods systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. e001308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Katryn Blanchard ◽  
Audrey Prost ◽  
Tanja A J Houweling
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Home Visits ◽  
Newborn Health ◽  
Maternal And Newborn Health ◽  
Women's Groups ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Women’S Groups ◽  
Maternal And Newborn

IntroductionCommunity health worker (CHW) interventions are promoted to improve maternal and newborn health in low-income and middle-income countries. We reviewed the evidence on their effectiveness in reducing socioeconomic inequities in maternal and newborn health outcomes, how they achieve these effects, and contextual processes that shape these effects.MethodsWe conducted a mixed-methods systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies published between 1996 and 2017 in Medline, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus databases. We included studies examining the effects of CHW interventions in low-income and middle-income countries on maternal and newborn health outcomes across socioeconomic groups (wealth, occupation, education, class, caste or tribe and religion). We then conducted a narrative synthesis of evidence.ResultsWe identified 1919 articles, of which 22 met the inclusion criteria. CHWs facilitated four types of interventions: home visits, community-based groups, cash transfers or combinations of these. Four studies found that CHWs providing home visits or facilitating women’s groups had equitable coverage. Four others found that home visits and cash transfer interventions had inequitable coverage. Five studies reported equitable effects of CHW interventions on antenatal care, skilled birth attendance and/or essential newborn care. One study found that a CHW home visit intervention did not reduce wealth inequities in skilled birth attendance. A study of women’s groups reported greater reductions in neonatal mortality among lower compared with higher socioeconomic groups. Equity was most improved when CHWs had relevant support for assisting women to improve health practices and access health care within community contexts.ConclusionWhile current evidence remains limited, particularly for mortality, existing studies suggest that CHW interventions involving home visits, cash transfers, participatory women’s groups or multiple components can improve equity in maternal and newborn health. Future mixed-methods research should explore intervention strategies and contextual processes shaping such effects on equity to optimise these efforts.

scholarly journals Network competence in Finnish SMEs: implications for growth

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lasse Torkkeli ◽  
Olli Kuivalainen ◽  
Sami Saarenketo ◽  
Kaisu Puumalainen
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Competence Development ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Competencies ◽  
Network Competence ◽  
Apply Regression Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how network competence is related to the growth of domestic and international SMEs originating from the Nordic region. Business networks have been found to drive internationalization of SMEs in the Nordic context, but the impact of network-related organizational competencies on them has not been considered. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply regression analysis on a sample of 298 Finnish SMEs across five industry sectors, gathered via an online survey in 2008, and with the data having been updated for its financial indicators up to 2010. Findings – The authors find that cross-relational network competence is a significant predictor of growth in internationally operating SMEs. This result is robust across measures among the firms. In comparison, the network competence of domestically operating SMEs is not related to their growth, and relationship-specific competence does not influence growth. Research limitations/implications – The study does not account for longitudinal aspect of competence development. Growth is measured by the growth in sales and assets, and there are other ways to measure organizational growth. A single-country context also extends some restrictions on the generalizability of the results, although they could be expected to hold across small, open economies similar to Finland and the Nordic area. Practical implications – The results imply that the strategic aims of SMEs determine their need for network competence, those SMEs seeking internationalization and growth through geographic expansion come to benefit from developing certain types of network competence. Social implications – Policy implications arise where governments in Finland and in the Nordic area may aid SMEs’ internationalization efforts by enabling the growth-seeking firms with increased resources for competence development. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine how the organizational competencies to develop and manage business networks, in particular dyadic and network-level competencies, come to determine realized growth outcomes in domestic and international SMEs. It contributes to the theory of SME internationalization and international entrepreneurship from the business network point of view, while providing further knowledge on internationalization of SMEs originating from the Nordic area.

scholarly journals An investigation into the level of empowerment of rural women in the Zululand district of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa

Curationis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.R. Bhengu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Women's Groups ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Women’S Groups ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcome of the empowerment of rural women in relation to gender issues, power, and communication within the Zululand District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa after implementation of a four-year Primary Health Care project in partnership with the Provincial Department of Health, and two Schools of Nursing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and McMaster University in Canada. This project is based on substantial evidence which reveals that rural women are being neglected to the extent that these women have missed out on opportunities for development. The reasons for this disempowerment of women, particularly rural women, are thought to be due to the feminisation of poverty, as well as female submission, educational deprivation, privacy of domestic violence, exploitation, domination by men and cultural oppression (patriarchy).A qualitative research approach was used. Focus group discussion was utilised as the data collection technique, and this was also applied during the collection of baseline data. An interview guide covered issues of concern in the communities and households, including what the women would, or had done about these, how they engaged in decision-making in their families, how they handled situations when there was a difference of opinion, and their awareness of, and ability to claim their rights, including control of their lives. The data was collected from six clinics, from groups of six to ten women in the predominantly rural Zululand District of KwaZulu-Natal.The project has revealed improvement in the women’s realisation of their rights, albeit limited, in communication, self-confidence, and reliance, including partnerships between Primary Health Care Nurses and women’s groups. The formation of women’s groups facilitated community development and participation in their own health, socio-economic and emotional development.The project suggests that such groups be encouraged and allowed to network for support as they understand their own problems better, they merely require facilitation.

Filling the voids left by the formal sector: informal borrowings by poor households in northern mountainous Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Huu Thu ◽  
Pham Bao Duong ◽  
Nguyen Huu Tho
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
The Body ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Rural Finance ◽  
Informal Credit ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Poor Households

PurposeThis study aims to examine the accessibility, loan purposes and effects of informal credits on poor households in Northern mountainous Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThis study used primary data collected directly from surveying 402 poor households in Thai Nguyen province using a well-designed questionnaire. The probit model is employed to specify which factors affect access to informal credit, the tobit model is used to estimate the borrowing functions specified. In addition, descriptive statistical analysis is also used to describe the accessibility, purposes and effects of informal credit on poor households.FindingsThe results show that there is a considerably high proportion of informal borrowings from relatives, neighboring villagers, professional moneylenders, rotating saving and credit groups, trade credits and mortgages. Labor force ratio, social capital and residential land areas are the key determinants of poor households' informal borrowings. The purposes of borrowing are diverse. The informal loans also have certain significant effects on poverty reduction and the welfare of poor households.Research limitations/implicationsThe effects of the informal loans on house welfare should be quantitatively evaluated.Practical implicationsThe findings from these analyses allow us to draw relevant policy implications for the development of rural finance in other low-income, developing countries.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the body of published literature in several ways. Firstly, it provides understanding of the performance of the informal financial subsector. Secondly, the informal subsector of rural finance is evaluated in close relation to the formal subsector.

scholarly journals Analysing pro-poor innovation acceptance by income segments

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1663-1674
Author(s):  
Md Rajibul Hasan ◽  
S.M. Riad Shams ◽  
Mizan Rahman ◽  
Shamim Ehsanul Haque
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Bottom Of The Pyramid ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Analyses

PurposeTo enhance the understanding of the moderating influence of different bottom of the pyramid (BOP) income segments on the antecedents of pro-poor innovation acceptance.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, 320 BOP consumers with a range of low-to-moderate literacy and low-income levels were used as a convenience non-probability sample for undertaking quantitative analyses.FindingsOnly the influence of perceived usefulness on intention is moderated by income segments, such that the effect will be stronger for low-income BOP segment. Moreover, the influences of relative advantage, compatibility and observability on intention are moderated by income segments.Practical implicationsThis empirical work has considerable private sector and public policy implications for companies and government designing/selling products for millions of poor people in developing and emerging economies.Originality/valueThis study contributes originally to knowledge in the subject area as there are very few studies that clearly and systematically analyse the key antecedents influencing the adoption intention of pro-poor technological innovations in the BOP market.

scholarly journals Local competence building and international venture capital in low-income countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Stefan Hain ◽  
Roman Jurowetzki
Keyword(s):  
Venture Capital ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
International Venture ◽  
Shed Light

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the changing pattern and characteristics of international financial flows in the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), provide a novel taxonomy to classify and analyze them, and discuss how such investments contribute to competence building and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach In an exploratory study, the authors analyze the characteristics of international venture capital investors and the start-ups receiving funding in Kenya and map their interaction. The authors proceed by developing a novel taxonomy, classifying investors according to their main rationales (for-profit-for-impact), and start-ups according to the locus of needs and markets addressed by the start-up (local-global) and the locus of the start-ups capacity and knowledge (local-global). Findings The authors observe a new type of mainly western investors who support innovative ideas in SSA by identifying and investing in domestically developed technical innovations with the potential to address global market needs. The authors find such innovations to be mainly developed at the intersect of global and local knowledge. Originality/value The authors shed light on the – up to now – under-researched emerging phenomenon of international high-tech investments in SSA, and develop a novel taxonomy of technology investments in low-income countries, guiding further research on the conditions, impact, practical, and policy implications of this new form of finance flows.

The role of owners in industrial networks – the case of a steel producer

IMP Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjorn Axelsson ◽  
Håkan Håkansson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Business Unit ◽  
Business Network ◽  
Steel Company ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industrial Networks ◽  
Time Period

Purpose – In this paper, the authors will argue that owners as one type among many other types of actors is essential to bring into the picture when analyzing developments in industrial and other kinds of business networks. The direct relationship between owners and the business unit, the firm, is one type of relationship. But owners, as well as the firm as such, also possess several indirect relationships that could be highly relevant in many business network situations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate both direct and indirect relationships when analyzing the role of owners. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical base is coming from an earlier Swedish investigation of the development of a steel company in the course of 75 years. In this study the authors mapped ownership and the role owners had in financial and other terms. The authors also made a detailed investigation of the development of the company in terms of important customers and suppliers, i.e. its business network. In total it means that the empirical data give us a quite multidimensional picture of the role and importance of ownership over a substantial time period. Findings – The owners were for this company not at all important as financers. The monetary flow went, during the whole period, from the company to the owners. The owners, however, played a far more important role in an indirect way, affecting the way the company designed single business relationships as well as the combined network of those relationships. The owners were more important as network designers than as financial contributors. The analysis focusses on two topics: the ways in which owners contributed to the development of the firm during several phases of its development and similarities and differences between the various types of ownership (an entrepreneur – owner, a customer firm, a bank, a family industrial sphere). Originality/value – The results indicate that the existence and importance of indirect relationships is of vital importance when analyzing the importance of owners in business networks. These indirect relationships are usually not analyzed in contemporary research about ownership. This an interesting and important topic and the authors hope that this study will be followed by many more. The addressed topic is especially relevant for the policy implications.

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