Paper
Study to Determine the Special Needs of Women in the Micro-enterprise Development Sector
Increasing women's participation in microenterprise development
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This study identifies the special needs of Microenterprise Development Project's (MEDEP) women clients in remote hill districts in Nepal.
MEDEP conducted the study in two districts of Nepal in order to increase women's participation in microenterprise development. The study revealed that women were hampered by:
- Attitudinal problems;
- Lack of literacy, mobility, confidence and control over household decision making processes;
- Excessive house and farm work;
- Ignorance about microenterprise support programs and alternate forms of enterprises;
- Lack of interest in forming groups;
- Small initial loan amounts;
- Reservations about training;
- Problems in sustaining existing enterprises;
- Competition and exploitation by middlemen;
- Rising prices of raw materials.
The study recommends a situational analysis to help design a social mobilization package that would address barriers to group formation, skill training and credit mobilization. Recommendations include:
- Disseminating educational materials on feasible ventures and various aspects of microenterprise development;
- Making access to credit easier;
- Developing training to help sustain enterprises;
- Exploring development of a collective marketing system to avoid middlemen and access raw materials;
- Offering additional financial management support;
- Promoting new technology.
