Nigerian Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Contemporary Ghana: Insights on Locational/Sectoral Niches and Inter-Generational (Dis)Continuities

Bosiakoh, Thomas Antwi

doi:10.1007/s12132-016-9298-4

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…While acknowledging that a number of studies have documented the presence and trading activities of immigrants in Ghana (Akyeampong, 2006;Debrah, 2007;Obeng, 2015;Antwi-Bosiakoh, 2009;Aniegye, 2012;Ajavon, 2014;Fadayomi et al, 2014;Ohene-Marfo, 2014), studies concerning the characteristics and livelihood activities of itinerant West African migrant traders have not attracted much research attention in contemporary times (Ghana Statistical Service [GSS], 2012;GSS, 2013;Bello-Bravo, 2015;Antwi-Bosiakoh 2016). Meanwhile, Ghana as one of the main economic hubs of West Africa hosts a significant number of these immigrants who predominantly subsist in itinerant petty trading across the country (Bakewell & Jόnsson, 2011;GSS 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of livelihood activity amongst itinerant west African migrant traders in the Accra metropolitan area

2019

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In West Africa, studies on migration and livelihoods are mostly limited to internal migrants. This study analyzed the livelihood activities of itinerant West African migrant traders in the Accra Metropolitan Area, using mixed methods approach. The study which was guided by the framework for migration and itinerant migrant trade surveyed 779 itinerant immigrant traders and interviewed 12 key informants. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were the main analytical techniques used. The results showed that most of the immigrant traders were young, unmarried males with no formal education and their main trading activity was itinerant retailing of foot wears/leather belts/bags and herbal medicines. As regards their livelihood status, female immigrant traders and those who were younger (< 20 years) were less likely to have improved livelihood status. Moreover, while immigrant traders of food products were more likely to have a deteriorated livelihood status, those engaged in the sale of durable products (electronics and accessories) were most likely to achieve improved livelihood status. The study recommends that itinerant West African migrant traders should invest more of their resources in the sale of electronics and accessories as it has the highest potential of guaranteeing secured and improved livelihoods. Any form of business support aim at improving the livelihood status of itinerant immigrant traders should be focused on young and female itinerant traders and those engaged in the sale of food-related items because they were less likely to maintain improved livelihood status.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of livelihood activity amongst itinerant west African migrant traders in the Accra metropolitan area

2019

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“…Similar to Oluchi, Ijeoma’s Nigerian restaurant business provides Nigerian cuisines for her customers who are predominantly of Nigerian ethnics in Suame, Kumasi. For both Oluchi and Ijeoma, the dominance of Nigerians in Ghanaian immigration (Twum-Baah, 2005; Essuman-Johnson, 2006; Antwi Bosiakoh, 2009, 2011, 2017a, 2017b) has opened up opportunities related to specific ethnic needs, in other words, the ethnically related needs of the immigrants, and this has offered them viable platform for unleashing their entrepreneurial drives. They have each seized the prospect in this by establishing their individual businesses.…”

Section: Embeddedness In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nigerian immigrant women’s entrepreneurial embeddedness in Ghana, West Africa

Bosiakoh

Tetteh

2019

IJGE

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of female immigrant entrepreneurs generally and more specifically Nigerian women entrepreneurs in Ghana, West Africa. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative research that draws on a broad-based research on Nigerian men and women immigrants’ entrepreneurship in Ghana. Face-to-face interviews with six women in the study are analysed here to provide insights into their motivations for and embeddedness of their entrepreneurship activities in Ghana. Findings The women’s entrepreneurship activities lend themselves to the mixed embeddedness argument in two ways: first is their ethnic embeddedness, and second their embeddedness in informality and policy framework. Also, all the women work in very trying circumstances and thus display what can be described as a “daring entrepreneurship” drive. Practical implications This paper is positioned at the intersection of ethnic embeddedness, informality and daring entrepreneurial drive by migrant women. Originality/value The paper provides an unprecedented and a refreshing account on the entrepreneurship and operational pathways of women in the margin of the global economy.

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“…Though there is a long history of Nigerian presence in Ghana (Antwi Bosiakoh, 2009; Arhin, 1979; Eades, 1994; Peil, 1974), there is no uniformity on the existing statistics, just like their counterparts around the world. Nonetheless, it suffices to note that the Nigerian immigrants in this study are an important part of the growing Nigerian presence in Ghana (Antwi Bosiakoh, 2017a,b; Akinyoade, 2015) and a key part of the estimated 5.2 million Nigerians living in other countries around the world (Orozco and Mills, 2007). According to some sources (see for example Olatuyi et al, 2013) as many as 5% of all Nigerians in the diaspora live in Ghana, making Ghana the third top destination for Nigerian migrants in the global south following Sudan and Cameroon, and the fifth destination in the world including the US and UK (Antwi Bosiakoh, 2017b; Olatuyi et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introduction: Setting the Contextmentioning

confidence: 96%

Nigerian Immigrants as ‘Liminars’ in Ghana, West Africa: Narratives on Mobility, Immobility and Borderlands

Bosiakoh

2019

Journal of Asian and African Studies

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The mobility/immobility research frontier in migration scholarship has gained ascendancy since the beginning of this century with some studies highlighting the need for broader global trends in cross-border mobility/immobility research. This article on Nigerian immigrants as ‘liminars’in Ghana, West Africa, is an attempt to join the global cross-border mobility/immobility discourse on mobile people. It is anchored in the qualitative research tradition with the empirical data generated through in-depth interviews, observations and market conversations with 41 Nigerian immigrant entrepreneurs in Accra (the capital of Ghana), Kumasi (the second largest city after Accra) and Ashaiman (a sprawling sub-urban settlement). In a three-theme analysis approach, the paper shows three intersections in mobilities, immobilities and borderland accounts, namely mobility/borderland, trapped/living in a borderland space, and immobility in temporal-spatial borderland, and places the immigrants into a liminar category. This article is a contribution to understanding the mobility/immobility research frontier from the perspective of the global south and its impact on global southern ‘citizens’.

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Nigerian Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Contemporary Ghana: Insights on Locational/Sectoral Niches and Inter-Generational (Dis)Continuities

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

Analysis of livelihood activity amongst itinerant west African migrant traders in the Accra metropolitan area

Analysis of livelihood activity amongst itinerant west African migrant traders in the Accra metropolitan area

Nigerian immigrant women’s entrepreneurial embeddedness in Ghana, West Africa

Nigerian Immigrants as ‘Liminars’ in Ghana, West Africa: Narratives on Mobility, Immobility and Borderlands

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