Determinants of Self Employment Decision on West Shoa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, East Africa

Self-employment and Entrepreneurship are considered as being major means for development, employment and wealth creation and, therefore, gaining an increasing attention from governments and policy makers. However, very little is known about what factors determine self-employment decisions of individuals in the study area. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the various determinants of self-employment decision using the survey data collected from a total of 242 randomly selected respondents (147 self employed and 95 paid employed) from four towns of West Shoa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The study employed Logistic Regression technique to estimate the determinants of self-employment. The study came with the finding that age of the respondents, educational attainment, household size, having self employed parent, inheritance, and access to credit variables have significant and positive influences on the decision to participate in self employment. On the other hand, age squared of the respondents and access to paid employment affects self employment status negatively and significantly. Based on the results and discussions, study suggests that government organization and other development practitioners who are concerned with unemployment reduction and poverty alleviation through the promotion of self employment need to take these determining factors in to account to achieve better outcome and enhance the self employment and entrepreneurship activities in the study area and in the country in general

Innovation for green industrialisation: an empirical assessment of innovation in Ethiopia’s cement, leather and textile sectors

Ethiopia has recently committed to economic transformation and industrialisation through a low-carbon development trajectory. Existing literature highlights innovation as a critical driver of industrialisation, and the need for ‘green’ innovations to improve resource productivity and reduce pollution. However, empirical studies investigating the nexus between green innovation systems and industrialisation in developing countries are limited. Based on nine semi-structured interviews and a survey of 117 firms, this paper assesses sectoral systems of innovation in Ethiopia’s cement, leather and textile sectors, with a view to understanding their functioning toward supporting green industrialisation. Results revealed low rates of product and process innovations among firms in Ethiopia. The main inhibitors of innovation are high costs of technology, inadequate finance and limited information. Improving competitiveness is the main driver of firms’ innovation, while reducing environmental impacts and meeting environmental regulations were among the least important motivators. Moreover, interactions among firms, government and other actors encourage innovation. The study therefore suggests enhancing coordination among key actors, providing financial incentives for firms, and enforcing environmental regulations

Determinants of Micro and Small Enterprises Growth in Selected Towns of West Shoa Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

MSEs have an important contribution to economic growth and employment creation in Ethiopia.  However, due to different bottlenecks that hinder the growth, MSEs found in these three towns were not grown as it was expected. Therefore, this study aimed at identifying the major determinants of MSEs growth in West Shoa Zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. In the study, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. Primary data was obtained using questionnaires. Stratified sampling was used to select proportional number of samples from the study area. The study used Chi-square and logistic regression to measure the association and determine growth probability of MSEs, respectively. The result of the study revealed, Entrepreneurial competency, managerial skills, market access, innovation, high initial investment size, access to finance and manufacturing sector variables were identified as a major determinant of growth of the MSEs in the study area.  MSEs Owner/manager characteristics such as gender and age were found not to have an influence on the growth of the enterprises as the descriptive result showed. The probability of growth of MSEs were positively influenced by entrepreneurship competency, management skill, market access, initial investment size, and sector in manufacturing; however, getting access to finance and engaging in innovation activity have negative impact on the growth probability of MSEs based on the binary logit model result.  The variables included in the model explain about 73.38% of the influences on the MSEs Growth so as, the model is fit. The study recommends that proper understanding of these factors constitutes an essential starting point and important for the Owner/manager of MSEs, government and non-governmental organizations to formulate policies and strategies in order to reduce unemployment, poverty and income inequality thereby promote MSEs and their growth in the country and particularly in West Shoa Zone. </jats:p