Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia

This paper analyzes the employment characteristics of food micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), using survey data collected from 1,686 food vendors in Addis Ababa and Butajira, Ethiopia. The data suggest that 74 percent of the enterprises were formal or had a tax identification numb...

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Main Authors: Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew, de Brauw, Alan
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168503
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author Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew
de Brauw, Alan
author_browse Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew
de Brauw, Alan
author_facet Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew
de Brauw, Alan
author_sort Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This paper analyzes the employment characteristics of food micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), using survey data collected from 1,686 food vendors in Addis Ababa and Butajira, Ethiopia. The data suggest that 74 percent of the enterprises were formal or had a tax identification number. The average number of workers across enterprises was 2.3, which varies between 1.2 as in the case of street sellers and 5.3 as in the case of restaurants. Among enterprises with an additional worker besides the owner, only about 32 percent of them had part-time workers. The share of youth in part-time and full-time employment was 43 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Adults especially women constituted the majority of both full-time and part-time workers. More than 53 percent of the enterprises were owned and operated by women, but the significant majority of them were one-person enterprises, suggesting that women-owned enterprises are less likely to create additional jobs. In fact, results from the logistic regressions suggest that the odds of women-owned enterprises employing anyone were between 0.53 to 0.62 times the odds of men-owned enterprises. Only 17 percent of the enterprises had outstanding loans at the time of the survey. However, the relationship between loan uptake status and the number of workers was not strong. Results also indicate that the number of workers was positively and significantly associated with the size of enterprise revenue but the relationship with profitability was not strong, possibly because the size of profits per worker was quite low. To put this in perspective, the size of profits per worker (for example, for street sellers who are mostly self-employed and rarely take their wages into account during cost calculations) was less than the cost of a healthy diet. Overall, while the food MSMEs in the study sites may have the potential to deliver food at lower cost and contribute to gender and social inclusion through self-employment, the scope of food MSMEs, especially those run by women, to generate additional employment appears to be limited.
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spelling CGSpace1685032025-11-06T05:44:36Z Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew de Brauw, Alan employment enterprises gender women youth This paper analyzes the employment characteristics of food micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), using survey data collected from 1,686 food vendors in Addis Ababa and Butajira, Ethiopia. The data suggest that 74 percent of the enterprises were formal or had a tax identification number. The average number of workers across enterprises was 2.3, which varies between 1.2 as in the case of street sellers and 5.3 as in the case of restaurants. Among enterprises with an additional worker besides the owner, only about 32 percent of them had part-time workers. The share of youth in part-time and full-time employment was 43 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Adults especially women constituted the majority of both full-time and part-time workers. More than 53 percent of the enterprises were owned and operated by women, but the significant majority of them were one-person enterprises, suggesting that women-owned enterprises are less likely to create additional jobs. In fact, results from the logistic regressions suggest that the odds of women-owned enterprises employing anyone were between 0.53 to 0.62 times the odds of men-owned enterprises. Only 17 percent of the enterprises had outstanding loans at the time of the survey. However, the relationship between loan uptake status and the number of workers was not strong. Results also indicate that the number of workers was positively and significantly associated with the size of enterprise revenue but the relationship with profitability was not strong, possibly because the size of profits per worker was quite low. To put this in perspective, the size of profits per worker (for example, for street sellers who are mostly self-employed and rarely take their wages into account during cost calculations) was less than the cost of a healthy diet. Overall, while the food MSMEs in the study sites may have the potential to deliver food at lower cost and contribute to gender and social inclusion through self-employment, the scope of food MSMEs, especially those run by women, to generate additional employment appears to be limited. 2024-11 2025-01-03T15:29:30Z 2025-01-03T15:29:30Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168503 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew; and de Brauw, Alan. 2024. Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia. SHiFT Working Paper November 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168503
spellingShingle employment
enterprises
gender
women
youth
Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew
de Brauw, Alan
Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia
title Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia
title_full Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia
title_short Assessing the role of food MSMEs in providing employment for women and youth in Ethiopia
title_sort assessing the role of food msmes in providing employment for women and youth in ethiopia
topic employment
enterprises
gender
women
youth
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168503
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