Chapter 21 Study Guide
Micro-entrepreneurs: Women’s Role in the Development of Africa
Essential Question: How are women micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries
changing their communities?
Geoterms you will need to know:
gender-based division of labor: the division of work into two categories based on sex,
or gender. The result is that men and women do different kinds of work.
informal economy:
the part of the economy in which goods and services are
exchanged outside of government control. People who work in the informal economy
often sell goods on the street or in a street market.
micro-enterprise:
a very small business with few of no employees
micro-entrepreneur: a person who starts and runs a very small business
What challenges do people in developing countries in Africa face?
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Lack of food
Disease (particularly malaria)
Natural disasters (droughts that lead to crop failure and food shortages)
Civil Wars
What additional challenges do poor African women face as they try to get out of
poverty?
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Much of the traditional work women do, such as caring for children and growing
food on small plots of land, does not even earn them money.
Lack of education. In 2002, nearly half of African women could not read, which
limits the jobs they can get.
GRINDING PEANUTS IN RURAL MALI
With the help of a UN program, these women bought a machine called a multifunctional
platform. The machine can be used to do many things. These women connected it to a
grinding tool, which can grind nuts and grains much faster than doing it by hand. Using
this machine, these women have created a peanut-grinding business.
How have these micro-enterprises changed people’s lives and these women’s
community?
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Spending far less time grinding peanuts, leaving more time for their families.
Having extra time to grind peanuts and sell the peanut butter in the market.
Earning money by running the machine for their customers.
They have learned a new business skill and many more are taking reading and
math classes.
They are sending their daughters to school because they don’t need them to help
grind.
They have hired men as mechanics to maintain their machine.
SELLING IN UGANDA’S “POOR MAN’S MARKET.”
Margaret Saajjabi’s first micro-enterprise was selling laundry soap and bottled drinks. By
saving her earnings, she was able to purchase land in the Kalerwe market. From that land
she has created these micro-enterprises.
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She rents 27 spaces to other micro-enterprises, such as hairdressers, electricians,
vegetable sellers, and cooks.
She sells water in large cans.
She has a 50-car parking lot and charges people to park there.
How have these micro-enterprises changed people’s lives and these women’s
community?
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She supports her 6 children and helps raise her 19 nieces and nephews, most of
who are in school.
She has hired 6 guards for her parking business.
She sold market space to other micro-entrepreneurs, who in turn are able to
provide for their families.
COOKING UP COMFORT FOOD IN BOTSWANA
These women have created street-side restaurants that serve traditional Botswana food to
city workers. They purchased caravans (small trailers) and converted them into mobile
restaurants. They buy plastic patio furniture so their clients can sit while they eat. They
park their restaurants where people work and shop.
How have these micro-enterprises changed people’s lives and these women’s
community?
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They earn money to send their children to school.
They are sometimes able to buy land and build a home.
They are sometimes able to hire workers to cook, clean, and transport supplies.
They are sometimes able to create work for other women, such as selling box
lunches in other parts of the city.
They provide inexpensive, convenient, and traditional meals to city workers.