Determinants of entrepreneurial engagement intensity in rural settings: evidences from Haramaya district, Ethiopia

Empirical research studies on entrepreneurial work intensity and its determinants in Ethiopia are negligible. Thus, the study examined the applicability of work intensity in rural entrepreneurship Haramaya district. The study was based on the Theory of Time Allocation. To this end, data were gathered via a cross-sectional survey of 381 rural households and were analyzed using the Tobit model. The findings revealed that ownership of the business site, location of the enterprise, contract work, the distance of residents from the main road, ecological settings, childhood experience of the household head as an orphan and the reason or motivation for starting an enterprise are found to be the most significant determinants of entrepreneurial intensity. The study underlined the prominence of household, spatial, and motivational factors in shaping the intensity of entrepreneurial engagement. Finally, the importance of placing emphasis on the vitality of improving household-level resources and capabilities to create as many devoted rural entrepreneurs as possible was recommended

A model public toilet service in an urban context that improves management and income for the urban poor: Field action report

Background: In Ethiopia, public toilets are commonly provided and managed by municipalities or designated government structures. This traditional model of public toilet management is limited in its ability to generate income for upkeep. To address this, USAID’s Strengthening Ethiopia’s Urban Health Program developed a public toilet management model with an integrated business approach and multiple construction design options. Objectives: To demonstrate a sustainable model for public toilet management that ensures the provision of high-quality and equitable services. Method: A public toilet management model and engineering design with three typologies were developed after a multi-sectoral team of experts conducted studies to identify the key challenges to current management. The management model and engineering design were tested in Kombolcha and Kemisse. Results: From February to August 2018, 5,099 and 18,795 people used the public toilet and shower services in Kombolcha and Kemisse towns, respectively. Of these users, 338 (3.6%) and 318 (3.4%) have a disability. In Kombolcha, four women organized as a medium and small enterprise (MSE) are managing the toilet and shower services; each member receives a 700 birr monthly salary. In Kemisse, five women organized as an MSE are managing the facility; each member receives a 2,500 birr monthly salary. They have a savings of 29,000 birr in the MSE’s account. Conclusion: The developed model helps to strengthen the management of public toilet service quality and sustainability by creating business opportunities. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2020; 34(Special issue 2):42-48] Keywords: Public toilet, model, urban, income, urban poo

Determinants of Smallholder Farmers' Market Orientation for Small-Scale Crop Commercialization in West Gojjam Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

The study examines the determinants of smallholder farmers' market orientation considering agro-ecology and transaction costs. Multistage sampling procedure was used to collect quantitative data from 405 randomly selected smallholder farmers. Qualitative data were collected through key informant interview and focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA and zero-inflated beta regression were used to analyze quantitative data while narration data analysis used to analyze the qualitative data. The results have revealed that smallholder farmers in the lowlands and midlands are more market oriented than they are in the highlands. Education increases the probability and proportion of market orientation. Farmland size and farmland rental contracts positively influence the probability of market orientation. Distance from home to nearby markets negatively affect the proportion of smallholder farmers' market orientation. Mobile possession positively influences the probability of market orientation. Membership to farmers cooperatives enhances extent of market orientation. The findings have suggested that human capital, physical resource endowments and arrangement, transaction costs, cooperatives, and agro-ecological endowment affect smallholder farmers' market orientation. Therefore, education, farmland rental contracts, infrastructure development, and soil fertility improving technologies are needed to increase market orientation and promote small-scale commercialization

Explaining Organizational Export Performance by Single and Combined International Business Competencies

This study explores relationships between export performance and international business competencies (international orientation, export market orientation and international entrepreneurial orientation), and interactions between the competencies. Data from on-site structured interviews with 159 owners and managers of exporting firms from different economic sectors show direct relationships between the competencies and export performance. However, analyses of the effects of interactions between the competencies and export performance show mixed results. The findings suggest developing the identified competencies to increase export performance, but if this would be exclusively based on the direct relationships between the competencies and export performance, results may be suboptimal

Linking Cultural and Marketing Practices of (Agro)pastoralists to Food (In)security

Many pastoralist communities around the world rely on the traditional livestock farming sub-sector for a living and to meet their food consumption needs. Food insecurity, on the other hand, is a growing concern in these communities, and the reasons for this must be understood in order to implement appropriate policy measures to improve food security. Based on data collected from Aramis-Adaar and the Asale pastoralist and agro-pastoralist (hereafter (agro)pastoralist) communities in Afar, Ethiopia, this study investigates the relationship between social–cultural–economic characteristics and food (in)security. To measure the severity of food insecurity and assess the associations, we used the household food insecurity access score (HFIAS) and ordered logistic regression, respectively. Our findings show that food insecurity in the study area is persistent where improvement in food security is significantly constrained by some culture elements (the (agro)pastoralists’ cultural orientation). It has also been found that the (agro)pastoralists’ market exchange practices, as well as the centuries-old practice of guro (livestock mobility as a traditional coping strategy), help to reduce food insecurity. These findings contribute to our understanding of food insecurity in the (agro)pastoralist context and thereby add to the ‘move-up’ or ‘move-out’ pastoralist development policy debate. Therefore, the results suggest that there is a need for a combination of approaches that combine pastoral production services and market production orientation and capitalize on (agro)pastoralist traditions, such as mobility, to promote sustained (agro)pastoral livelihoods and ‘move-up’ the pastoral production system