Access to external finance is a key challenge for the creation, survival and growth of SMEs. This article delves into the “weak funding” handicap of rural small firms (SEs): the access to bank financing and the substitutive role of trade credit for entrepreneurs in rural areas when they...

The growing emphasis on rural small and medium size entrepreneurship for economic development, especially in the context of poverty alleviation in developing countries has thrown up some major challenges for the commercial ventures led by women in global perspective. The position of women, even...

1. The recession and beyond : local and regional responses to the downturn / David Bailey and Caroline Chapain -- 2. The spatial impacts of the recession / Naomi Clayton -- 3. The impact of the recession on businesses / Nigel Berkeley, David Jarvis and Jason Begley -- 4. The impacts of the...