Urban renewal and growth opportunity barriers of microenterprises: Between working space scarceness and incongruity in Shashemene city, Ethiopia

Abstract

In Ethiopia lack of working space/business premises is one of the external growth opportunity barriers for microenterprises resulting in inefficient absorption of the large labor pool currently entering into this sector of the economy. It also results in sever competition among businesses for city space, leading to street vending and informal business. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the challenges faced by microenterprises pertinent to shortage of working space. A total of 564 samples (304 and 260 enterprise in old but transformed buildings and newly built buildings in the city, respectively) were selected using simple random sampling. For this particular study an embedded mixed research design (EMRD, one methodology within another one) was applied. The data were collected using a survey questionnaire, GIS and interviewes. The obtained quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and qualitative techniques, description and narration. The findings presented in this paper show the prevalence of working space scarceness and incongruity in Shashemene city. Thus, it can be suggested that the city need to revisit urban land leasehold proclamation performance, urban renewal initiative progress, and old business premises’ transfer procedures, and also integrate local trade unions/chambers of commerce synergy and firms’ growing working space demand.