A Postcolonial Analysis of Entrepreneurship in Africa

Abstract

Global measurement of entrepreneurial activity shows that entrepreneurship in Africa is growing. Similarly, research on African entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial behaviour appear in an increasing number of scholarly articles. However we note an obvious neglect of a context sensitive approach to both the measurement of entrepreneurial activity and researching entrepreneurship in Africa. In this theoretical paper, we use postcolonial theory, and more specifically Edward Said's idea about the misrepresentation of the Orient by the Occident, to illustrate how existing global measures of entrepreneurial activity fail to provide a real account of entrepreneurship for Africa. We then propose postcolonial theory as a useful analytical tool for researching Africa's case. To justify this proposal, we analyse the region's colonial history, large informal sector, heterogeneous population of entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurship and current geopolitical changes. We then use Homi Bhabha's concept of the 'third space' and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's concept of subalternity to critically analyse entrepreneurship research in Africa. To end, we propose a shift towards methodologies which are more context sensitive, recognise the postcolonial setting of Africa and allow agency to emerge during fieldwork.

2 - The Migration and Informal Market Nexus: A study of Nigerien Forex Traders in Benin City

“…As Roitman (1990) explains, and as we have shown through the works of Samaila (2011) and Potts (2008), informal markets are the products of historical networks of trade and accumulation that have evolved and mutated as new resources are accessed, and as national and global economic factors change (Roitman 1990). Sambajee and Weston (2015) advocate for the use of postcolonial theory as an analytical tool when researching entrepreneurship in Africa. They also emphasise the use of methodological approaches that are humanistic and culturally informed to question the representations of African entrepreneurship on the world scene.…”

“…Our work adopts these recommendations and goes further, to centre the experiences of intra-African migrants who are also entrepreneurs. Like Sambajee and Weston (2015), we have chosen to situate this work in the postcolonial school of thought because we aim to contribute to the dismantling of the colonial prose, specifically as it pertains to the discourse on South-South migrations and the perceptions of informal sectors in Africa. Rather than a macro approach, we have chosen, as our contribution to the body of work that already exists in this field, a micro approach to this study.…”

AD, Volume 48, n° 3, 2023 - Numéro complet

“…As Roitman (1990) explains, and as we have shown through the works of Samaila (2011) and Potts (2008), informal markets are the products of historical networks of trade and accumulation that have evolved and mutated as new resources are accessed, and as national and global economic factors change (Roitman 1990). Sambajee and Weston (2015) advocate for the use of postcolonial theory as an analytical tool when researching entrepreneurship in Africa. They also emphasise the use of methodological approaches that are humanistic and culturally informed to question the representations of African entrepreneurship on the world scene.…”

“…Our work adopts these recommendations and goes further, to centre the experiences of intra-African migrants who are also entrepreneurs. Like Sambajee and Weston (2015), we have chosen to situate this work in the postcolonial school of thought because we aim to contribute to the dismantling of the colonial prose, specifically as it pertains to the discourse on South-South migrations and the perceptions of informal sectors in Africa. Rather than a macro approach, we have chosen, as our contribution to the body of work that already exists in this field, a micro approach to this study.…”