Wogari Wakjira

Contributions of Micro-enterprises to Sustainable Livelihoods: Evidence from Woliso Town, Oromia, Ethiopia Wogari Wakjira

Micro-enterprises have always been reckoned as the key to extricating the poor from poverty. A burgeoning micro-enterprise sector also constitutes a fertile ground for medium and large-scale enterprises/industries to flourish. It seems reasonable, therefore, that many governments in poorer nations have recently given immense attention to the sector. This book deals with an empirical work on the contribution of micro-enterprises to sustainable livelihoods in a small town context in a developing country, Ethiopia, with an application of the sustainable livelihoods framework. By adopting the framework to the study of livelihoods in an urban setting, the work breaks new ground. It discusses the livelihood assets (human capital, social capital, physical capital and financial capital), livelihood strategies and activities, livelihood outcomes, sustainability of the livelihoods of micro-enterprise operators,the context in which micro-enterprises are run, and their constraints. It is thus an important material for policy makers, practitioners and researchers in the area of micro-enterprises and sustainable livelihoods.