Developing industrial ventures which a few people with limited capital can initiate. These include cottage industries; ancillary industry; small scale processing of local products (i.e. jam making from locally grown fruit); and intermediate assembly of products.
The difficulties of making large industrial investments in uncertain economic times have made small productive units attractive, especially in lesser-developed economies, in rural areas and among the unemployed.
This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.
The private sector and local communities, in cooperation with national governments, should promote local infrastructure development, including communication networks, mini- or micro-hydro development to support cottage industries, and access to markets.
Light industry of this type has an extremely high failure rate for individual industries.
From a local perspective, light industry has little control over markets, credit and most resources; this increases the risk of failure.