Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi

Sane Pashane Zuka; Linda Sowoya

doi:doi:10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15

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Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi

Sane Pashane Zuka, Linda Sowoya

Published in Journal of Business and Economic Development (Volume 2, Issue 4)

Received: 7 April 2017 Accepted: 14 April 2017 Published: 27 July 2017

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Abstract

Women economic empowerment has become an established policy goal in a number of countries. There is currently increased belief that this goal can be achieved by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To this end, restructuring of economic activities to facilitate women participation in the formal economy is seen as a sure way to developing SMEs. Integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy is particularly perceived as facilitating women owned SMEs access to investment capital, business and market opportunities. The process of facilitating new entrants into the formal market, however, involves negotiations and contestations among market actors. Employing the social capital concept, this paper examines the challenges of women integration into the formal sector in Malawi. Data for this paper was collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions with women owned SMEs. The study findings demonstrate that unless accompanied by enforcement mechanisms, women integration into the formal economy will remain symbolic than real. While there is a lot of rhetoric for the integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy, formally registered women owned SMEs largely survive through informal transactions. In particular, the findings demonstrate that bridging social capital that enables entrepreneurs to operate in the formal economy is locked out for many women forcing them to depend on informal bonding social capital.

Published in	Journal of Business and Economic Development (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15
Page(s)	233-239
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Women SMEs, Malawi, Social Capital, Integration, Institutional Enforcement

References

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Sane Pashane Zuka, Linda Sowoya. (2017). Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi. Journal of Business and Economic Development, 2(4), 233-239. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15

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ACS Style

Sane Pashane Zuka; Linda Sowoya. Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi. J. Bus. Econ. Dev. 2017, 2(4), 233-239. doi: 10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15

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AMA Style

Sane Pashane Zuka, Linda Sowoya. Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi. J Bus Econ Dev. 2017;2(4):233-239. doi: 10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15

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@article{10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15,
  author = {Sane Pashane Zuka and Linda Sowoya},
  title = {Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi},
  journal = {Journal of Business and Economic Development},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {233-239},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jbed.20170204.15},
  abstract = {Women economic empowerment has become an established policy goal in a number of countries. There is currently increased belief that this goal can be achieved by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To this end, restructuring of economic activities to facilitate women participation in the formal economy is seen as a sure way to developing SMEs. Integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy is particularly perceived as facilitating women owned SMEs access to investment capital, business and market opportunities. The process of facilitating new entrants into the formal market, however, involves negotiations and contestations among market actors. Employing the social capital concept, this paper examines the challenges of women integration into the formal sector in Malawi. Data for this paper was collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions with women owned SMEs. The study findings demonstrate that unless accompanied by enforcement mechanisms, women integration into the formal economy will remain symbolic than real. While there is a lot of rhetoric for the integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy, formally registered women owned SMEs largely survive through informal transactions. In particular, the findings demonstrate that bridging social capital that enables entrepreneurs to operate in the formal economy is locked out for many women forcing them to depend on informal bonding social capital.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi
AU  - Sane Pashane Zuka
AU  - Linda Sowoya
Y1  - 2017/07/27
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15
T2  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
JF  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
JO  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
SP  - 233
EP  - 239
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2637-3874
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15
AB  - Women economic empowerment has become an established policy goal in a number of countries. There is currently increased belief that this goal can be achieved by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To this end, restructuring of economic activities to facilitate women participation in the formal economy is seen as a sure way to developing SMEs. Integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy is particularly perceived as facilitating women owned SMEs access to investment capital, business and market opportunities. The process of facilitating new entrants into the formal market, however, involves negotiations and contestations among market actors. Employing the social capital concept, this paper examines the challenges of women integration into the formal sector in Malawi. Data for this paper was collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions with women owned SMEs. The study findings demonstrate that unless accompanied by enforcement mechanisms, women integration into the formal economy will remain symbolic than real. While there is a lot of rhetoric for the integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy, formally registered women owned SMEs largely survive through informal transactions. In particular, the findings demonstrate that bridging social capital that enables entrepreneurs to operate in the formal economy is locked out for many women forcing them to depend on informal bonding social capital.
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Sane Pashane Zuka

Department of Land Economy, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre, Malawi
Linda Sowoya

Department of Commerce, University of Malawi, The Polytechnic, Blantyre, Malawi

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Sane Pashane Zuka, Linda Sowoya. (2017). Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi. Journal of Business and Economic Development, 2(4), 233-239. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15

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ACS Style

Sane Pashane Zuka; Linda Sowoya. Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi. J. Bus. Econ. Dev. 2017, 2(4), 233-239. doi: 10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15

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AMA Style

Sane Pashane Zuka, Linda Sowoya. Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi. J Bus Econ Dev. 2017;2(4):233-239. doi: 10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15

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@article{10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15,
  author = {Sane Pashane Zuka and Linda Sowoya},
  title = {Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi},
  journal = {Journal of Business and Economic Development},
  volume = {2},
  number = {4},
  pages = {233-239},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jbed.20170204.15},
  abstract = {Women economic empowerment has become an established policy goal in a number of countries. There is currently increased belief that this goal can be achieved by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To this end, restructuring of economic activities to facilitate women participation in the formal economy is seen as a sure way to developing SMEs. Integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy is particularly perceived as facilitating women owned SMEs access to investment capital, business and market opportunities. The process of facilitating new entrants into the formal market, however, involves negotiations and contestations among market actors. Employing the social capital concept, this paper examines the challenges of women integration into the formal sector in Malawi. Data for this paper was collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions with women owned SMEs. The study findings demonstrate that unless accompanied by enforcement mechanisms, women integration into the formal economy will remain symbolic than real. While there is a lot of rhetoric for the integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy, formally registered women owned SMEs largely survive through informal transactions. In particular, the findings demonstrate that bridging social capital that enables entrepreneurs to operate in the formal economy is locked out for many women forcing them to depend on informal bonding social capital.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Approved But Not Contracted: Assessing the Challenges of Women Owned Small and Medium Enterprises Integration into the Formal Economy in Malawi
AU  - Sane Pashane Zuka
AU  - Linda Sowoya
Y1  - 2017/07/27
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15
DO  - 10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15
T2  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
JF  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
JO  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
SP  - 233
EP  - 239
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2637-3874
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20170204.15
AB  - Women economic empowerment has become an established policy goal in a number of countries. There is currently increased belief that this goal can be achieved by supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To this end, restructuring of economic activities to facilitate women participation in the formal economy is seen as a sure way to developing SMEs. Integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy is particularly perceived as facilitating women owned SMEs access to investment capital, business and market opportunities. The process of facilitating new entrants into the formal market, however, involves negotiations and contestations among market actors. Employing the social capital concept, this paper examines the challenges of women integration into the formal sector in Malawi. Data for this paper was collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions with women owned SMEs. The study findings demonstrate that unless accompanied by enforcement mechanisms, women integration into the formal economy will remain symbolic than real. While there is a lot of rhetoric for the integration of women owned SMEs into the formal economy, formally registered women owned SMEs largely survive through informal transactions. In particular, the findings demonstrate that bridging social capital that enables entrepreneurs to operate in the formal economy is locked out for many women forcing them to depend on informal bonding social capital.
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
ER  -

Copy | Download