Abstract:
The Rural Enterprising Programme (REP) was introduced by the government to
improve entrepreneurship in rural areas in Ghana. Studies have found that women are
usually undermined in society and do not benefit from major government policies.
This study, therefore, sought to examine the impact of the rural enterprising
programme on female entrepreneurs in rural areas. The study adopted the qualitative
research approach and the descriptive research design. The purposive sampling
technique was used to select 11 participants for the study. The data for the study was
gathered with the use of an interview and observation guides. The thematic analysis
was used to analyze the data for the study. The study found that female entrepreneurs
in rural areas faced several challenges such as inadequate finance, lack of marketing
skills and difficulty in acquiring business certificates before the introduction of the
REP. The study also found that the REP provides help in the form of machinery
support, managerial and marketing skill, skill training and business advisory to rural
female entrepreneurs. It was also found that the implementation of the REP is
impeded by challenges such as delay in the disbursement of funds to beneficiaries,
stalled modules leading to loss of interest by beneficiaries, inadequate machinery and
materials and lack of assets like land. The study made some recommendations to aid
the effective implementation of the REP to benefit rural female entrepreneurs.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Social Studies Education, Faculty of
Social Sciences, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in partial
fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Social Studies Education)
in the University of Education, Winneba
