Rural enterprises in Malawi : necessity or opportunity?

The past few decades have shown an increasing awareness of the importance of small-scale enterprises for the livelihood of rural Africans and the role of these nonagricultural activities in the economic development of rural areas. This book examines the development of rural enterprises in Malawi in a period of rapid population growth combined with a contraction in the real income of the rural population. Based on a study carried out in 1993-1994 among entrepreneurs and households in Mchinji and Salima districts in central Malawi an overview is provided of the number of people involved in rural enterprises, the characteristics of the businesses and the entrepreneurs, the differences between male and female-operated enterprises, the importance of sociocultural factors in enterprise development, the role of nonagricultural activities in the livelihood strategies of rural households, the links between farming and nonagricultural activities, the differences in nonagricultural activities between and within the two districts and the demand for goods and services produced by rural entrepreneurs. By comparing the results of this survey with the results of a similar study conducted in 1983, the author is able to review the development of rural enterprises in the intervening period