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Micro-informal entrepreneurship directed by women after the 16-A earthquake in the north of Manabi, Ecuador

Abstract:

High intensity earthquakes profoundly affect the living conditions of the population, especially those families living in poverty. The event that occurred on April 16, 2016 (16-A) in Ecuador, with epicenter in the provinces of Manabi and Esmeraldas, caused great human and material losses and left a part of the population without the guarantee of compliance to meet their basic needs. In these families, women were probably the most affected, because they are the center of the family nucleus and the enterprises were a way of subsistence. The objective of the research was to characterize the informal micro-entrepreneurships directed by women in the northern of Manabi registered after the 16-A earthquake in Ecuador, as a way to understand the economic and social dynamics in the area of greatest impact of the earthquake. The study was carried out in Canton Pedernales, north of Manabi, using a questionnaire applied to 485 women who led informal microentrepreneurship after the 16-A earthquake. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics were used, through which frequency distribution tables were prepared. It was determined that most of the projects in the area existed before the 16-A earthquake and none of them presented the corresponding permits. Informal entrepreneurships in the study area allowed women to meet the minimum needs of their families; however, they do not allow the real economic problem to be solved, rather they constitute subsistence activities. Therefore, it was necessary for the State to intervene in training and economic support activities.