The fourth priority topic that emerged from the Knowledge and Information Needs Assessment Study is Rural Enterprises. The topic is strongly justified given that lots of IFAD-funded projects in the region seek to develop Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as Micro-Enterprises that can exploit the local potential, create jobs for rural youth, absorb the labour surpluses, and reduce thus rural exodus to the big cities. Creation of SMEs is the step forward after the Income Generating Activities step wherein many beneficiaries can join their efforts and resources to create a "bigger" enterprise with a wider market.

This is why KariaNet always encourage knowledge exchange between its members on this topic.