“Rwanda’s economic development goals include providing full and productive employment to the labor force, and ensuring that poorer households, along with the rich, benefit from economic growth. This requires raising the productivity of all sectors of the economy. This includes the part of the economy which is household based – household farms and enterprises, which are the livelihood of at least 80 of households. To date Rwanda has an agricultural strategy, but no coherent strategy specifically directed towards the development of household enterprises. This means that there is no specific strategy for a sector which was an important source of income for nearly 30% of households in 2006. The study of household enterprises (HEs) in Rwanda aims to contribute to the development of a national strategy to promote the growth and reduce the risks of these enterprises. Towards this objective, the study seeks to: (i) provide a profile of household enterprises and determine their role in the national economy, (ii) analyze constraints to their growth and productivity, and (iii) review policies to identify areas where they can be redesigned so that HEs can contribute significantly towards achieving Rwanda’s development targets. The key findings of the study are summed up below.”
