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The past few decades have shown an increasing awareness of the importance of small-scale enterprises for the livelihood of rural Africans and the role of these non-agricultural activities in the economic development of rural areas. This book examines the development of these activities in a period of rapid population growth combined with a contraction in the real income of the rural population, a situation not only found in Malawi but in several other African countries as well. Based on a study carried out in 1993-94 among entrepreneurs and households in Mchinji and Salima in districts in central Malawi an overview is provided of the number of people involved in rural enterprises, the characteristics of the businesses and the entrepreneurs, the differences between male- and female-operated enterprises, the importance of socio-cultural factors in enterprise development, the role of non-agricultural activities in the livelihood strategies of rural households, the links between farming and non-agricultural activities, the differences between and within the districts regarding non-agricultural activities and the demand for goods and services produced by rural entrepreneurs. By comparing the results of this survey with the results of a similar study conducted in 1983 the development of rural enterprises is also reviewed.