IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jintdv/v14y2002i1p61-74.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Enterprise across the digital divide: information systems and rural microenterprise in Botswana

Author

Listed:
  • Richard Duncombe

    (Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK)

  • Richard Heeks

    (Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of information and information-handling technologies within the many rural microenterprises that currently lack access to ICTs. On the basis of field research in Botswana, it finds that poor rural entrepreneurs rely heavily on informal, social and local information systems. While highly appropriate in many ways, these systems can also be constrained and insular. Priorities for breaking this insularity will be greater access to shared telephone services. ICTs may play a supplementary role. They will need to be based in intermediary organizations that can provide complementary inputs of finance, skills, knowledge and other resources. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Duncombe & Richard Heeks, 2002. "Enterprise across the digital divide: information systems and rural microenterprise in Botswana," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 61-74.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:14:y:2002:i:1:p:61-74
    DOI: 10.1002/jid.869
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/jid.869
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/jid.869?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lisenda Lisenda, 1997. "Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises in Botswana: Their Characteristics, Sources of finance and Problem," Working Papers 14, Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis.
    2. Daniels, Lisa, 1999. "The role of small enterprises in the household and national economy in Kenya: A significant contribution or a last resort?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 55-65, January.
    3. Mead, Donald C., 1994. "The contribution of small enterprises to employment growth in southern and eastern Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(12), pages 1881-1894, December.
    4. World Bank, 1998. "World Development Report 1998/1999," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 5981.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ernest Etim & Olawande Daramola, 2023. "Investigating the E-Readiness of Informal Sector Operators to Utilize Web Technology Portal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-28, February.
    2. Jean-Philippe Berrou & François Combarnous & Thomas Eekhout, 2018. "Usages du mobile et performances économiques des micro et petites entreprises informelles à Dakar. Quels profils d’usagers pour quels segments de l’informel ?," Working Papers hal-02148197, HAL.
    3. Vigneswara Ilavarasan & Mark R Levy, 2010. "ICTs and Urban Microenterprises: Identifying and Maximizing Opportunities for Economic Development," Working Papers id:2819, eSocialSciences.
    4. Richard A. Duncombe, 2014. "Understanding the Impact of Mobile Phones on Livelihoods in Developing Countries," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 32(5), pages 567-588, September.
    5. S. V. Krishna Kishore & Aloysius Henry Sequeira, 2016. "An Empirical Investigation on Mobile Banking Service Adoption in Rural Karnataka," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(1), pages 21582440166, March.
    6. Joël Cariolle & David A Carroll, 2020. "Digital Technologies for Small and Medium Enterprises and job creation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers hal-03004583, HAL.
    7. Melia, Elvis, 2019. "The impact of information and communication technologies on jobs in Africa: a literature review," IDOS Discussion Papers 3/2019, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    8. World Bank, 2007. "Tanzania - Pilot Rural Investment Climate Assessment : Stimulating Non-Farm Microenterprise Growth," World Bank Publications - Reports 7798, The World Bank Group.
    9. Paunov, Caroline & Rollo, Valentina, 2016. "Has the Internet Fostered Inclusive Innovation in the Developing World?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 587-609.
    10. Islam, Md. Mazharul & Habes, Essam M. & Alam, Md. Mahmudul, 2018. "The usage and social capital of mobile phones and their effect on the performance of microenterprise: An empirical study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 156-164.
    11. Ortiz, Oscar & Orrego, Ricardo & Pradel, Willy & Gildemacher, Peter & Castillo, Renee & Otiniano, Ronal & Gabriel, Julio & Vallejo, Juan & Torres, Omar & Woldegiorgis, Gemebredin & Damene, Belew & Kak, 2013. "Insights into potato innovation systems in Bolivia, Ethiopia, Peru and Uganda," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 73-83.
    12. Wenxiu (Vince) Nan & Minseok Park, 2022. "Improving the resilience of SMEs in times of crisis: The impact of mobile money amid Covid‐19 in Zambia," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 697-714, May.
    13. Umesh Shrivastava & Amit Kumar Dwivedi, 2021. "Manifestations of rural entrepreneurship: the journey so far and future pathways," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(4), pages 753-781, October.
    14. Avgerou, Chrisanthi, 2010. "Discourses on ICT and development," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 35564, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Ajoy Ketan Sarangi & Rudra Prakash Pradhan, 2020. "ICT infrastructure and economic growth: a critical assessment and some policy implications," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 47(4), pages 363-383, December.
    16. Jonathan Donner & Marcela X. Escobari, 2010. "A review of evidence on mobile use by micro and small enterprises in developing countries," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(5), pages 641-658.
    17. Loening, Josef & Lane, William Leeds, 2007. "Tanzania: Pilot Rural Investment Climate Assessment. Stimulating Nonfarm Microenterprise Growth," MPRA Paper 24824, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Jean-Philippe Berrou & Damien Girollet, 2019. "A la recherche des « gazelles » du secteur informel urbain africain. Entreprises et entrepreneurs à fort potentiel dans leur environnement socioéconomique et numérique," Working Papers hal-02507441, HAL.
    19. Richard Heeks & Shoba Arun, 2010. "Social outsourcing as a development tool: The impact of outsourcing IT services to women's social enterprises in Kerala," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 441-454.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Masakure, Oliver & Cranfield, John & Henson, Spencer, 2008. "The Financial Performance of Non-farm Microenterprises in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2733-2762, December.
    2. John Weeks, 2003. "Small manufacturing establishments in developing countries: An empirical analysis," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 339-359.
    3. Nichter, Simeon & Goldmark, Lara, 2009. "Small Firm Growth in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1453-1464, September.
    4. Francesco Quatraro & Marco Vivarelli, 2015. "Drivers of Entrepreneurship and Post-entry Performance of Newborn Firms in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 30(2), pages 277-305.
    5. William Easterly & Ross Levine, 2002. "It´s Not Factor Accumulation: Stylized Facts and Growth Models," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Norman Loayza & Raimundo Soto & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Series Editor) (ed.),Economic Growth: Sources, Trends, and Cycles, edition 1, volume 6, chapter 3, pages 061-114, Central Bank of Chile.
    6. Stiglitz, Joseph E., 2002. "New perspectives on public finance: recent achievements and future challenges," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(3), pages 341-360, December.
    7. Jian Zhang & Linxiu Zhang & Scott Rozelle & Steve Boucher, 2006. "Self‐Employment With Chinese Characteristics: The Forgotten Engine Of Rural China'S Growth," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 24(3), pages 446-458, July.
    8. Debraj Ray & Joan-Maria Esteban, 2015. "Inequality and Public Resource Allocation," Working Papers 47, Barcelona School of Economics.
    9. Ram Pratap Sinha, 2009. "Liberalisation of Financial Markets: The Developing Country Experience," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 34(2), pages 274-290, May.
    10. De la Torre, Augusto & Schmukler, Sergio, 2007. "Emerging Capital Markets and Globalization: The Latin American Experience," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 349, December.
    11. Chitiga, Margaret & Kandiero, Tonia & Mabugu, Ramos, 2005. "A Computable General Equilibrium Micro-Simulation Analysis of the Impact of Trade Policies on Poverty in Zimbabwe," Conference papers 331388, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    12. Grant Boyle, 2002. "Putting context into ICTs in international development: an institutional networking project in Vietnam," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 101-112.
    13. Pene Zongabiro Nina Pelagie, 2014. "The Contribution of Village Palm Grove to the Cameroonian Rural Economic Development," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(2), pages 159-168, September.
    14. Pius B. Simon, 1998. "Informal Responses to Crises of Urban Employment: An Investigation into the Structure and Relevance of Small-scale Informal Retailing in Kaduna, Nigeria," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(6), pages 547-557, August.
    15. Jalan, Jyotsna & Ravallion, Martin, 2001. "Behavioral responses to risk in rural China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 23-49, October.
    16. Reardon, Thomas, 1997. "Using evidence of household income diversification to inform study of the rural nonfarm labor market in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 735-747, May.
    17. Kaushalesh Lal, 2007. "E-business and Manufacturing Sector: A Study of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in India," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Information and Communication Technologies in the Context of Globalization, chapter 2, pages 16-33, Palgrave Macmillan.
    18. Mirza, M. Usman & Richter, Andries & van Nes, Egbert H. & Scheffer, Marten, 2019. "Technology driven inequality leads to poverty and resource depletion," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 215-226.
    19. Jordan Shan & Jianhong Qi, 2006. "Does Financial Development 'Lead' Economic Growth? The Case of China," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 7(1), pages 197-216, May.
    20. Nathan Fiala, 2015. "Economic Consequences of Forced Displacement," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(10), pages 1275-1293, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jintdv:v:14:y:2002:i:1:p:61-74. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/5102/home .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.