microenterprisen.
/ˌmʌɪkrəʊˈɛntəprʌɪz/, U.S. /ˌmaɪkroʊˈɛn(t)ərpraɪz/ Chiefly North American.
A business operating on a small scale; esp. one supported by an organized programme of assistance in an economically deprived area or developing country (frequently attributive); (also) the practice of running such a business. Cf. micro-business n.
ΚΠ
1984 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 9 Aug. 29 ‘Micro enterprises can be done from their homes or from a rented room in a community where they can be nearby their children,’ says Deborah Ziska.
1987 Washington Post (Nexis) 29 June 41/2 Many microenterprise credit projects have extremely high repayment rates.
1992 R. M. Bone Geogr. Canad. North iii. ix. 212 Informal businesses, called micro-enterprises, are small-scale and labour-intensive.
1995 Atlantic Monthly Dec. 47/1 I figure that micro-enterprise in this country has a window of opportunity for the next four or five years.
1999 N.Y. Times 22 Jan. a26/5 Microenterprise programs, already successful in the developing world, could give the poor a chance to earn income for themselves.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1984