Growing Together

It is estimated that there are over 900 million formal and informal micro-enterprises worldwide, defined in this report as self-employed women and men, and enterprises with fewer than ten employees. They provide the bulk of jobs and livelihoods in many developing countries and a high proportion are in business for want of other viable livelihood-generating alternatives. Many are women-owned, and all are more tightly integrated into the day to day affairs of the family compared to larger businesses. Being a micro-enterprise is inherently risky with very limited protection against rapid market changes or personal and family crises. All of these risks are intensified in countries with no or very limited social safety nets.