The study used quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the environmental factors
that affect the performance of a nationally representative sample of 590 women and youth
microenterprises in Botswana. It further determined the extent the microenterprises have
utilized the government institutional credit and capacity building programmes to expand their
enterprises. The results suggest that women and youth microenterprises are engaged mainly in
the trade and services sectors and are profitable. Most of the microenterprises were owned as
individual proprietors and the main motivations for engaging in microenterprises included
improvement of household income, creation of employment opportunities, and search for selfindependence.
The women and youth microenterprises were unable to access available
government institutional credit and capacity building (e.g Citizen Entrepreneurial Development
Agency [CEDA] and Youth Development Fund) and capacity building through the Local
Enterprise Authority (LEA)) to expand their enterprises. The study recommends that to improve
the investment climate for microenterprises through enhanced access to institutional credit, a
specific institution modelled like a government microfinance institution that uses collateral
substitutes in the delivery of credit to the micro-entrepreneurs, which is a more pragmatic
model for delivery of credit to microenterprises, be created to cater for the credit needs of the
microenterprises.