The Household Enterprise Sector in Ghana: Overview and Challenges

Abstract

Household Enterprises (HEs) have not received much consideration in the enterprise literature even though they are crucial for the development of an economy. These enterprises have been the main source of livelihood for most families in the informal sector and their contribution to reduction in unemployment is pivotal to growth of developing economies. This paper explores the nature of HE sector in Ghana and the challenges they face in their daily operations. The study employed an informal enterprise survey of 729 household enterprises conducted in 2013 by the World Bank in Ghana. With the use of systematic review and descriptive analysis, the study outlined financial constraint as the main challenge faced by HEs and discussed the linkage between HEs and the financial sector in Ghana. Based on these findings recommendations were made to the major stakeholders in the sector (entrepreneurs, financial institutions and government).