Exploring firm performance and growth among own-account and micro enterprises in Ghana

Nkechi S. Owoo, Abena D. Oduro, Charles Ackah

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Using micro-level data from the 2013 nationally-representative GENDA survey on approximately 1,200 own-account and micro enterprises, we examine firm performance and business growth between men and women entrepreneurs in Ghana. Using OLS and multinomial logit (MNL) regression techniques, we find differential effects and constraints for men and women-owned businesses: men generally perform better than women, controlling for a host of characteristics. We find that among women-operated firms, locating a business at home has negative performance implications. Additionally, women-operated firms report more positive growth experiences when their businesses are formally-registered. While credit constraint has negative effects for both male and female-operated firms, the effects are felt stronger among men. We also find some evidence of ICT use-age on performance of firms, with differential effects for men and women. These findings provide significant scope for policy targeting in order to enhance business performance and growth among own-account and micro enterprises in Ghana.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)294-311
Number of pages18
JournalInternational Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Volume38
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Business growth
  • Firm performance
  • Gender
  • Ghana
  • Micro enterprise
  • Own-account firms

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