Barriers to the Establishment of Rural Micro-Enterprises: A Study of Rural Women in Kermanshah Province

Ketabi, Mozhdeh; Karimi, Saeed; Movahedi, Reza

doi:10.22069/jead.2025.22835.1857

Barriers to the Establishment of Rural Micro-Enterprises: A Study of Rural Women in Kermanshah Province

Authors

¹ Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agriculture,, Bu- Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

² Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

10.22069/jead.2025.22835.1857

Abstract

Micro-enterprises provide a significant opportunity for empowering rural women and facilitating their entry into the job market, thereby contributing to household livelihood and poverty reduction within rural areas. For this reason, strengthening small businesses among rural women is of paramount importance as an effective strategy for increasing employment and reducing unemployment. Consequently, the present study was conducted to identify the barriers to micro-enterprises for rural women in Kermanshah Province, using a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews served as the data collection tool for this research. Data analysis was performed through qualitative content analysis, based on the textual analysis of interviews with 14 rural women who either currently operate micro-enterprises or are in the process of establishing them. Participants were selected using a snowball sampling method. The results revealed that the main barriers to establishing micro-enterprises for rural women in Kermanshah Province can be categorized into eight groups. These barriers based on the highest percentages associated with the most frequently occurring codes were respectively: cultural and social barriers (16.7%), financial and economic barriers (14.1%), and policy and legal barriers (13.3%), governmental and institutional barriers (12.8%), individual barriers (12.8%), educational and skill-related barriers (11.6%), spatial and geographical barriers (10.8%), familial barriers (7.9%). Based on the findings, the following recommendations are suggested: government support in simplifying the licensing and insurance processes, developing family and community awareness programs, encouraging male involvement and support for these programs, establishing and strengthening local micro-finance funds, facilitating connections to urban and local markets, and promoting group collaborations.

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