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Research . 2023
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Digital Technology Uses among Microenterprises

Authors: Atiyas, Izak; Dutz, Mark A.;

Digital Technology Uses among Microenterprises

Abstract

This paper explores the use of digital technologies, their association with performance outcomes, and the main constraints to greater use among microenterprises. The study uses a sample of more than 3,300 firms across seven Sub-Saharan African countries, of which over 70 percent are informal and over half are self-employed enterprises with no full-time workers. The analysis finds that productive use of digital technologies is low: less than 7 percent of firms use a smartphone, less than 6 percent use a computer, and roughly 20 percent still do not use a mobile phone. Even fewer firms use digital tools enabled by these access technologies: among firms with smartphones, less than half use the internet to find suppliers, and only half with a computer use accounting software or inventory control/point-of-sale software. Women are less likely to use all digital technologies than men. A greater range of uses based on internet-enabled computers or smartphones relative to uses based on 2G phones are conditionally associated with higher job levels. However, there may be a tension between higher productivity and more jobs: the highest productivity firms are not generators of the highest jobs, and vice versa. That formal high-sales and high-jobs firms are more strongly associated with the use of internet-enabled tools than high-productivity firms suggests that relaxing constraints preventing the latter from using more such digital tools and expanding sales and jobs could be important. Among these constraints, more than seven in ten non-users indicate that lack of attractiveness (“no need”) is the main impediment to productive use of digital technologies. The most important conditional correlates of smartphone and computer adoption are related to having a loan, having electricity, having business linkages with large firms as customers, and managers having vocational training.

Country
United States
Related Organizations
Keywords

SMARTPHONE, DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, 330, PRODUCTIVITY, INCLUSION, JOBS, ICT BUSINESS LINKAGES, MICROENTERPRISE ICT, DECENT WORK, TECHNOLOGY USE GENDER GAP, INTERNET

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green