Chapter 15: Political Perspectives: From Policy to Practice
Micro-enterprises can perform a valuable economic development function, particularly in less developed regions. But how do you encourage this kind of entrepreneurial activity? Click here to download the rest of this case study and find out: Chapter 15 Case study
Chapter 15: Questions
1. What do you see as the main economic and non-economic functions of the micro-enterprises described in this case study?
Guidance answer:
Kwendo Kor has both economic and non-economic objectives.
Its economic functions include: the provision of micro-credit and the subsequent injection of additional finance into local economies; income generation for women; skills development and the development of market opportunities and linkages.
Non-economic functions include: creating an environment and opportunities where women can build self-confidence, greater control over their own economic affairs and health; peer support.
2. How would you measure the impact of this kind of entrepreneurial activity on local economies in Pakistan?
Guidance answer:
Impact measurement in micro-enterprise programmes and policy is important. Policy can and does often lead to unintended and sometimes counter-productive outcomes.
However, impact evaluation is not straight-forward or simple. The OECD has developed an internationally comparable set of indicators, however they stress that this is not a ‘one size fits all.’ It is important to tailor evaluation to the political and social context and to local differences.
3. What economic arguments could you make for governments and voluntary sector agencies to support micro-enterprise development?
Guidance answer:
There is a direct link between micro-enterprise development and increased employment and economic activity.
Micro-enterprise development programmes often directly address market failures where micro-businesses are disadvantaged in relation to larger counterparts.
4. What non-economic arguments could you make for this kind of intervention?
Guidance answer:
The active community involvement, participatory nature and distributed leadership inherent in the approach of Kwendo Kor is more likely than mainstream approaches to economic development to reach and engage socially excluded groups.
In an area where women have little autonomy and incomes are very low, those economic and non-economic measures combined could be seen to develop a layer of economic and social resilience. For socially excluded groups, the development of self-confidence and personal and community empowerment is an essential pre-cursor to strategies aimed at building skills and incomes.
