- Title
- The survival of micro -enteprises in Kampala, Uganda :a substainable livelihoods approach
- Creator
- Twinorugyendo,Penninah
- Subject
- Microfinance -- Uganda -- Kampala New Business Enterprises -- Uganda -- Kampala -- Finance
- Subject
- Small business -- Uganda -- Kampala
- Date Issued
- 2016
- Date
- 2016
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- PHD
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45333
- Identifier
- vital:38571
- Description
- This purpose of this thesis was to explain the resilience of certain micro-enterprises (MEs) in Kampala, Uganda – by focusing on their vulnerability, the assets that they brought to bear on the situation, the role of non-governmental organizations and government institutions in supporting MEs, and the strategies used by ME owners, themselves. As such, it adopts the Sustainable-Livelihoods approach – an approach that has not been used in Kampala before. Thus, it makes a valuable contribution to the field. Designed as a qualitative study, it used in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions. The major findings on vulnerability were linked to: the rising cost of materials; unfair licensing; the struggle to win tenders; local and foreign competition; and the disruption of utilities. The assets used to sustain the welfare of the MEs included: making use of a range of skill-acquisition strategies; leveraging networks; and pooling resources. Financial assets used by MEs revolved around informal savings and credit schemes; but the support given to the MEs through government agencies and NGOs was difficult to assess. Several important strategies were used by ME owners. One of these involved linking with formal construction companies. In addition, temporary workshops constructed out of wood-and-iron, were common. This increased mobility and allowed the re-use of materials. Furthermore, MEs manufactured their own tools, developed new marketing techniques, and diversified their income-generating activities. The significance of this study is two-pronged. It demonstrates that the resilience of MEs does depend on their own positive qualities, but also on an increasingly business-friendly national and international economic environment.
- Format
- 217 pages
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Science
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | PENNINAH TWINORUGYENDO.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |