Average return on microenterprises in Nepal falls below minimum urban wage, reports World Bank (opens original article in a new tab)

A World Bank report finds that informal microenterprises in Nepal mostly operate at subsistence levels with profits below minimum urban wages, highlighting the need for differentiated policy approaches to support livelihoods and address structural challenges in the informal sector.

• Most informal microenterprises in Nepal operate at subsistence levels with low profitability
• Average monthly profits of informal enterprises are below minimum urban wage and average urban wages
• Only 2.3% of informal businesses in Nepal achieve productivity levels comparable to formal microenterprises
• 449,315 out of 811,056 microenterprises in Nepal are not registered with any government entity
• Women own 48% of informal microenterprises and are more likely to value flexible working conditions