There is no question that urban employment is one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most pressing challenges. In this edition of CIVIS, Louise Fox, visiting professor of economic development policy at the University of California at Berkeley, argues that the Household Enterprise sector offers considerable potential for job creation. She suggests that Governments need to recognise this potential, in particular for the growing population of young school leavers in urban areas, and develop strategies to expand, not contract, the sector.