TY - INPR A1 - Dumenu, William Kwadwo A1 - Appiah, Louis Gyekye A1 - Paul, Carola A1 - Darr, Dietrich T1 - Should forest enterprises formalize? Insight from a multi-dimensional characterization of informal baobab enterprises N2 - Knowledge of the structure and characteristics of informal forest enterprises is critical to determining the most appropriate course of action for their development and formalization. This study characterizes and develops a typology of informal microenterprises in the Malawian baobab processing sector; and assesses factors influencing their entry into the informal sector. Drawing on the analysis of firm-level data from 305 informal baobab pro- cessors, cost and complexity of registration, smallness (scale) of the business, and necessity-driven motivations were identified as key factors influencing informality. Coupling principal component and cluster analyses, three typologies of informal microenterprises were identified and characterized namely; high performance-survival phase enterprises (type 1), moderate performance-survival phase enterprises (type 2), and low performance-start-up phase enterprises (type 3). Annual net profit (earnings), firm age, and the extent of adoption of formal systems and controls explained the inherent segmentation. The segmentation suggests a dualism compromising of an upper- and lower-tier enterprises characterized by strong involuntary entry into the informal forest sector. For policy implications, we argue that the upper-tier enterprises (types 1 and 2) be targeted with business development programmes to promote their growth while, the lower-tier (type 3) targeted with skills development and social support. Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:hbz:1383-opus4-17172 SP - 102935 EP - 102935 ER -