The constraints facing women micro-entrepreneurs in Luanda

M.Comm. (Economics)Women micro-entrepreneurs in Luanda constitute 47 percent of the people that are engaged as employees or as micro-enterprise owners in informal sector activities. These women have resorted to informal employment and businesses or micro-enterprises out of the necessity to sustain their families. They face significant poverty and seem to be trapped in subsistence activities. Using self-administered questionnaires, this research sought to determine the constraints that face women micro-entrepreneurs in Luanda. It was found that certain conditions and attributes of these women micro-entrepreneurs, such as their low levels of education, lack of cooperation amongst them, lack of access to credit despite the presence of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Luanda and bureaucratic requirements, prevent these women from enlarging their businesses. These constraints make them unable to generate significant income and hence they are trapped in poverty. This research can help policymakers in Luanda as well as microfinance institutions to devise ways to increase the viability of the women-owned micro-enterprises. It can also help these women owners of small businesses to adopt better ways of running their businesses in a sustainable way. The research is also a source of information that academics can draw on to develop new literature on the subject of poverty facing urban women running micro-enterprises