Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the lifeblood of local economies in developing and emerging markets. Yet the entrepreneurs founding these businesses – women in particular – typically lack sufficient access to the financing and skills they need. They can also struggle to find the confidence to drive their business forward.
A Futuremakers’ entrepreneurship project – funded by the Standard Chartered Foundation and implemented by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) – sought to uplift young
market-stall owners in Kenema (Sierra Leone) and in Kousséri (Cameroon).
Photo Credit: International Rescue Committee
These regions are some of the poorest in their countries. In Kousséri, for example, 77 per cent2 of the population lived below the poverty line in 2019 – far higher than the national average. Against such a backdrop – and facing the typical challenges of MSMEs in developing and emerging countries – many of the project participants struggled to make a sufficient living.
2The World Bank, Lifting Cameroon’s Most Vulnerable Out of Poverty: Building Resilience and Fostering Local Governance to Address the Root Causes of Fragility and Conflict in Northern Regions of Cameroon
Beyond the individual level, challenging home environments also made it hard for female entrepreneurs to sustain their livelihoods. In particular, many experienced violence at home at the hands of their spouse: this was the case for 41 per cent of participants from Kenema according to a pre-project survey.
At the community level, a lack of access to and understanding of financial products limited entrepreneurs’ ability to save and invest in their businesses. Moreover, the COVID-19 outbreak brought huge economic strain to these regions, and in most cases, project participants saw their businesses subsequently collapse.
These entrepreneurs needed economic support to get back on track after the worst of the pandemic subsided. But they also needed support overcoming the economic hurdles they were already facing, and combating the household and community barriers to their entrepreneurial success.
