Title: Revisiting the theory of social capital through the financing of microentrepreneurs in Cameroon using fuzzy decision tree and QFD

Authors: Serge Messomo Elle

Addresses: Department of Economics and Management, University of Buea, P.O. Box 179, Buea, Cameroon

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the networks of financing generated by social capital for informal microentrepreneurs in Cameroon and the extent to which they are important. The data collected and used were secondary and were from an employment survey done between 2005 and 2010 by the National Institute of Statistics. Percentages and ordinary least square regression were used to carry out descriptive and explanatory analyses respectively. The results showed that the social capital enables informal microentrepreneurs to get access to a diversified network of financiers made up of formal, informal financial and non-financial institutions. It was clear that the higher the social capital, the more microentrepreneurs use informal sources to get access to finances. It was equally revealed that social capital significantly explained the financing of microentrepreneurs within the area and scope of study. Based on these findings, we recommend that the government should put in place a regulatory framework facilitating the development of specific institutions in charge of financing the informal microentrepreneurs in Cameroon.

Keywords: entrepreneurial financing; informal microentrepreneurs; exclusion; social capital networks; market-oriented financial institutions; theory of social capital; entrepreneurship; Cameroon; fuzzy decision tree; QFD; quality function deployment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2015.072397

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2015 Vol.26 No.3, pp.352 - 367

Received: 18 Aug 2014
Accepted: 08 Mar 2015
Published online: 12 Oct 2015 *

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