‘Baron/Baroness’ food-get-together celebrations and mukando village contributions as tools for entrepreneurial socialization and innovation in Chikonye, Maheya, and Murairwa villages in rural Zimbabwe (original) (raw)
Related papers
Nature, Operations and Socio-Economic Features of Street Food Entrepreneurs of Harare, Zimbabwe
IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2014
The study investigated the role of social capital among street vendors of Harare Metropolitan. The investigation relied extensively on qualitative research because we wanted to get an in-depth understanding of the uses of social networks as daily survival tools for street vendors in the face of increased marginalisation. Observations, interviews and reviews of documents were used to collect data on the daily life, the problems faced by street vendors and problem-solving strategies. More specifically, in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve individual street vendors; one focus group session with six street vendors and three detailed interviews with key informants. The high influx of street vendors was due in part to low barriers of entry which enabled cash-poor segments of the population to make a living without a heavy financial capital outlay. But street vending also thrived because transactions required social capital, an asset which most vendors were endowed with. In this regard, the study found that social capital was an important variable in the livelihood provision of street vendors. Social capital was one of the many resources and was used in combination with them in survival strategies. Street vendors benefitted from their social capital on three levels: personal, suppliers and buyer relations and being members of social organisations including political parties. The main goal of the street vendors was to expand their business and revenue in order to improve their livelihoods. Surprisingly, the goals of the vendors were not situated in the realm of entering the formal sector. Instead, they longed to enter the formal economy as workers and not as entrepreneurs. Macroeconomic stability and an effective regulatory framework of the informal sector are required in Zimbabwe to assist in poverty reduction.
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.