This report is about the essence of social protection and its financing among women entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Many small businesses in Mauritius are run on an informal basis and by women entrepreneurs who have been found to accord less value to social protection. Lack of knowledge, absence of a concrete business plan, financial constraints and inability to be futuristic, all limit these women entrepreneurs in viewing their future more constructively. Owning an informal entity and income undoubtedly disqualifies women from benefiting from all the possible social schemes that are in place for enterprises which operate legally. Such schemes are important in ensuring the sustainability of the entity and assisting in risk taking. This research provides the different avenues that explain the very existence of women entrepreneurs in the informal sector and how knowledgeable they are about social protection and its significance to their business and its sustainability. Moreover, their willingness to contribute to at least one social protection scheme is analysed amongst other policy recommendations.
Keywords
Social protection,women,entrepreneurs,informal sector,Mauritius
