Assessing the contributions of Rural enterprise programme on Rural Female entrepreneurs in Micro and Small-Scale businesses in the Effutu Municipality

Abstract

The Rural Enterprising Programme (REP) was introduced by the government to improve entrepreneurship in rural areas in Ghana. Studies have found that women are usually undermined in society and do not benefit from major government policies. This study, therefore, sought to examine the impact of the rural enterprising programme on female entrepreneurs in rural areas. The study adopted the qualitative research approach and the descriptive research design. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 11 participants for the study. The data for the study was gathered with the use of an interview and observation guides. The thematic analysis was used to analyze the data for the study. The study found that female entrepreneurs in rural areas faced several challenges such as inadequate finance, lack of marketing skills and difficulty in acquiring business certificates before the introduction of the REP. The study also found that the REP provides help in the form of machinery support, managerial and marketing skill, skill training and business advisory to rural female entrepreneurs. It was also found that the implementation of the REP is impeded by challenges such as delay in the disbursement of funds to beneficiaries, stalled modules leading to loss of interest by beneficiaries, inadequate machinery and materials and lack of assets like land. The study made some recommendations to aid the effective implementation of the REP to benefit rural female entrepreneurs.