The Case for Letting Entrepreneurs Decide
When organizations talk with Street Business School (SBS) about our entrepreneurship program for people living in poverty, one of the most common questions we hear is, “What types of businesses should participants start?”
Many well-intentioned programs try to answer this by prescribing specific livelihoods such as tailoring, hairdressing, or other vocations, sometimes with a startup kit for a particular trade. But data from thousands of entrepreneurs trained by SBS and our partners suggest that the most effective programs don’t prescribe businesses at all. Instead, they equip people with the mindset and skills to identify opportunities in their own markets.
Encouraging entrepreneurs living in poverty to choose their own business comes with several powerful benefits. When someone makes the decision themselves, they can be more invested in the success of their venture and have greater personal commitment. They understand the subtle nuances of their local markets and know the small niches, unmet needs, and cultural preferences that outsiders might miss. Using our proven SBS framework for assessing the viability of potential businesses, participants aren’t just following their preferences, but are instead making informed, strategic choices. This approach increases the likelihood that businesses will be practical, sustainable, and able to grow over time.
SBS graduates start a wide range of businesses. The most common are small retail and trading enterprises like market stands, kiosks, and stalls. Entrepreneurs sell items like vegetables, fish, clothing, shoes, pre-packaged food, and other products. These businesses are the backbone of local informal economies and people can start them without much money. Entrepreneurs can quickly generate cash flow and reinvest in their inventory. Many of these businesses operate from a small stall or directly from home.
Agriculture and livestock are also common, particularly in rural areas. Entrepreneurs frequently invest in poultry, pigs, or small-scale farming, which can provide both income and food for the household. Prepared food businesses like small restaurants and street food vendors are popular as well, reflecting constant demand for ready-to-eat meals in busy parts of the community.
Other participants start service-based enterprises such as tailoring, hair salons, or mobile money services. These ventures sometimes require more training or equipment but can generate higher margins. In some communities, selling essential commodities like fuel or firewood also provides reliable income because demand remains steady year-round.
Across all these businesses, several patterns stand out. Most start extremely small, often with just a few dollars of capital and a small inventory of goods that sell quickly. Many entrepreneurs also run more than one business at a time to diversify income and reduce risk. And the majority of businesses cluster around essential sectors like food, clothing, fuel, and agriculture that usually remain resilient even during economic downturns.
What this tells us is simple but powerful: when entrepreneurs are trusted to choose their own path, they identify practical, locally relevant opportunities. Instead of prescribing a specific business, effective entrepreneurship programs focus on building the skills and confidence people need to observe their markets, test ideas with minimal capital, and grow over time. The result isn’t one “correct” business but rather a diverse ecosystem of micro-enterprises shaped by the entrepreneurs themselves.
Rose runs a small shop selling basic goods, and added diversified revenue streams including women’s handbags and renting out space in her fridges.
Juliet sold women’s clothes but noticed that during the COVID lockdowns, her community was having a hard time finding baby items.
So she pivoted and focused on this niche until things returned to normal.
Hamida runs a laundry business. She used the profits from that service-based entrepreneurship to start a second business rearing chickens,
and later purchased a plot of land.
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