Micro- and Small-Scale Enterprises in Botswana: Results of a Nationwide Survey

This paper summarizes the result of a nationwide survey on micro- and small-scale enterprises (MSEs) in Botswana. Provides information on various characteristics of existing MSEs including their magnitude, composition and location.

Findings reveal that:

• The sector consists of forty eight thousand enterprises employing over eighty-eight thousand people;
• Up to fifty four percent of MSEs provide fifty percent or more of household income in both urban and rural areas;
• Finance and marketing problems were consistently reported as primary constraints of MSEs at start-up and during growth;
• MSEs in Botswana are growing at an average rate of 7.8%.

It finally concludes that in order to assist the MSE sector, it is necessary to understand the composition of enterprises, their growth patterns, problems and constraints.

[Author's abstract]