Examining the effect of child labour in the profitability of women owned enterprises: a case of microcredit supported enterprises in Tanzania

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of child labour in the profitability of women owned enterprises. The study covered 429 women respondents who had access to microcredit in Morogoro and Iringa towns. We used the Ordered Probit to model the relationship between the predictors and the outcome variable. The findings show that the use of child labour plays a more significant role in the profitability of women businesses than any variable included in the analysis. Results have also shown that owners who possess business skills, who have access to markets and those who do not separate business resources from household resources are more likely to experience a profit increase in their enterprises than otherwise. On the other hand, access to loans doesn't seem to translate into increases in enterprise profit. From these results, we gather that as a poverty alleviation strategy, microcredit access and micro enterprising are not a panacea, but will require other supporting policies and services to enable women to find their way out of poverty. It is also important that job creation and employment patterns of microcredit supported enterprises are studied and valued accordingly.

Marriage and business performance: the case of women-owned micro and small businesses in Tanzania

“…However, for businesses funded through microcredit, the use of family labour and household resources may overrate the effect of the loan fund on business performance. Also, this may give a false picture of the empowerment and poverty alleviation effect of the intervention (Tundui and Tundui, 2018). Results have also shown that decision-making function in a household was a crucial factor in the performance of the women businesses.…”

“…The educational level of the business owner is likely not to affect business performance in case the owner does not possess the educational experience or requisite skills related to the business activities (OECD, 2004). Previous research has also established that business owners need specific business skills and experience, not just a formal education for their businesses to grow (Tundui and Tundui, 2018).…”

Why did I join networks? The moderating effect of risk-taking propensity on network linkage and the performance of women-owned businesses

“…Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence maybe seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode Risk-taking propensity by their male counterparts (Tundui and Tundui, 2018). This is due to the fact that women who have established businesses have been confronted with a slew of obstacles that have stifled their expansion and performance.…”

The contribution of smallholders' livelihood activities on income inequality and poverty: Case study from rural Tanzania

“…It is easy for households who are already engaged in non‐farm self‐employment, e.g., running their own shop, to increase afford in this business, while poor households who are not engaged in self‐employment are missing the necessary capital stock to start a business (Gutema, 2019). Microcredits could be one possible solution to reduce these barriers for poor households (Tundui & Tundui, 2018) and increase their ability to deal with income losses by exploring new income generating activities.…”