Abstract
Post-conflict African states present unique challenges for enterprise development, with governance structures often fragile and economic institutions in flux. The Comoros archipelago, having experienced periods of political instability, serves as a critical case for examining the interplay between governance and business regeneration in such environments. This study aims to develop a framework that elucidates the specific governance mechanisms and enterprise development pathways viable in post-conflict settings. It seeks to identify the principal constraints and enablers for business growth from the perspective of local entrepreneurs and institutional actors. A qualitative, multi-case study design was employed, utilising in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 28 purposively sampled business owners, policymakers, and representatives from microfinance institutions. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach to identify recurrent patterns and conceptual relationships. A central theme was the critical role of informal, community-based governance in filling institutional voids, with over two-thirds of participants emphasising its importance over formal state mechanisms. Access to tailored microfinance was identified as a pivotal opportunity, yet its effectiveness was heavily mediated by persistent clientelism within lending networks. The reconstruction of a viable business ecosystem is fundamentally contingent on leveraging existing social capital and informal governance, rather than solely attempting to replicate pre-conflict or imported formal structures. Enterprise development must be contextually embedded. Development practitioners should design microfinance products that explicitly account for and work through trusted community governance structures. Policymakers must focus on creating hybrid governance models that integrate informal and formal regulatory systems to foster a more predictable business environment. post-conflict reconstruction, governance, enterprise development, microfinance, qualitative study, Comoros This paper provides a novel, empirically-grounded framework that integrates the concepts of institutional bricolage and network-based resource allocation to explain enterprise development trajectories in post-conflict island economies.