Tracking constraints to micro-entrepreneurship using IVR technology: Results from a pilot study in Kenya and Uganda
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Suri-and-Dorval-2018-policy-brief.pdf
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- Current data collection exercises fail to capture the heterogeneity of entrepreneurs in developing countries in terms of scale.
- This project proposes a research agenda around understanding the constraints faced by micro-entrepreneurs, both formal and informal, through a series of mobile-based surveys (using IVR technology) delivered to small firms and micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries.
- In this study, pilot surveys were conducted with a small sample of firms in Kenya and Uganda to assess both the performance and cost-effectiveness of mobile-based surveys.
- Several discrepancies emerge when these findings are compared to findings from existing data sets, motivating greater attention to constraints faced by smaller firms in developing economies.
- The use of mobile technology-enabled shorter surveys, larger sample sizes and better survey completion rates, thus contributing to overall high cost-effectiveness for the project.