Most SEs face economic and political barriers that may inhibit their growth and can sometimes even threaten their very existence. These challenges range from broad regulatory matters such as the requirements and processes involved in registering a business and paying taxes to a sector-specific issue like import duties on essential raw materials. They include any government policies or private business practices that inhibit SE growth and income.
Problems are addressed using a wide range of strategies depending on the topic, the environment, and whether government or private sector:
§ Commercial SE Radio Programs: Using mass media to raise policy issues and influence legislation
§ Enabling Policy Environment: Buillding capacity of government to enact and enforce an enabling policy environment for SEs
§ Promoting Self-Represetation: Organizing and Strengthening Grass Roots SE Associations to Engage in Effective Self-Representation
§ Brokering Specific SE Policy Change Conducting awareness and advocacy work to change specific policies on behalf of SEs.
These strategies can be used in conjunction with one another for effective policy change.
Useful Web Links
http://www.grassrootsfreemarket.org/ Provides information about the importance of developing effective free markets for small enterprises. Provides up-to-date articles on the challenges facing information sector businesses around the world, and in-depth analyses of the issue. Contains essential links to other, relevant sites.
http://www.sewa.org The website of the Self-Employed Women’s Association in
http://www.wiego.org/ The website of Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing, an international movement founded in collaboration with SEWA. It contains a policy guide brochure.
http://www.ild.org.pe/ The website of Institute for Liberation and Democracy in
http://www.cipe.org This policy affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a capacity building organization focused on policy issues affecting small businesses around the world. The site contains toolkits and examples of policy advocacy strategies.
Typical SE Policy and Advocacy Issues:
§ General Government Policy Issues:
§ Recognizing the importance of the SE sector and developing appropriate general government policies;
§ Licensing (registration, fees, and so forth);
§ Tax assessment methods;
§ Access to land and space and associated fees (land entitlement, etc.);
§ Corruption and harassment around regulations, taxes, access to land, etc.;
§ Development of basic infrastructure (access roads, water, drainage, electricity);
§ Access to—and quality and price of—electricity, phone, water;
§ Labor regulations on redundancy, wage guidelines, and apprenticeship systems;
§ Patent systems;
§ Bidding processes for government contracts;
§ Import and export regulations and processes;
§ Ensuring equal subsidies for both large and small enterprises; and
§ Protecting the rights of women and minorities to do business.
Sector-related Government Policy Issues:
§ Import and export regulations that affect specific industries;
§ Taxes that affect specific industries;
§ Regulations particular to the sector, for example health standards for food processing;
§ Helping SEs gain access to existing government or private sector resources and services in specific sectors;
§ The existence of cartels and monopolies, especially those that are controlled by government or are politically associated;
§ For urban markets—sanitation, security, access to business stalls, access to electricity, water, and phone services as well as the freedom to assemble and the regulation of associations; and
§ For rural markets: regulation of monopolies and the quality of road and transportation services.
Typical Private Sector Issues:
§ Suppliers charging high prices and providing low quality;
§ Buyers paying low prices, taking a long time to pay, or offering other poor business conditions;
§ Competitors, particularly large scale, having an unfair advantage;
§ Business service providers (bankers, insurers, phone services, etc.) not targeting services to microenterprises, rural, or other less developed markets; and
§ Large scale developers grabbing land traditionally used as market space.