Resource information
Ethiopia's rural non-farm sector is
significant and participation is increasing. The sector is
particularly important for women and poorer households.
Non-farm enterprises provide income-earning opportunities to
those lacking alternative options and supplementary income
for farming households. This report is organized into seven
chapters. The first chapter lays the analytical groundwork
for assessing the rural investment climate in Ethiopia and
establishes a broader context for the empirical findings.
The second chapter analyzes size and basic enterprise
characteristics. The third chapter sheds light on the role
of women in rural entrepreneurship. The fourth chapter
analyzes enterprise dynamics: start-up, closure, and growth.
The fifth chapter is dedicated to the welfare effects of
rural enterprises, in particular their impact on food
security and distributional effects. The sixth chapter
compares rural and urban informal enterprise performance and
considers the role of small market towns. The final chapter
summarizes the findings and offers reflections for policy.
