Abstract
The street food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is a source of affordable and nutritious meals for the urban poor, while also being an important source of income for the women who dominate this sector. Despite the importance of this sector, many micro- and informal enterprises are labelled as “survivalist”, beyond the reach of common development policies, which give priority to so-called growth-oriented enterprises. When given the chance to speak for themselves, do enterprises express any aspirations to grow? Contrary to the literature, our findings show that necessity-driven enterprises do aspire to grow and that this is true for both those owned by men and women. Using contextual interaction theory, this paper explains why it is possible for previous authors to come to such a different conclusion.
Highlights
The street food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is a source of affordable and nutritious meals for the urban poor (Lues, Rasephei, Venter, & Theron, 2006; Namugumya & Muyanja, 2012; Ohiokpehai, 2003; Steyn et al, 2014), while being an important source of income for the women who dominate this sector (Bressers, Mohlakoana & de Groot, 2017; Graffham, Zulu, & Chibanda, 2005; Nackerdien & Yu, 2017)
Turning to the empirical data gathered in the present authors’ study of informal street food enterprises in three African countries during 2015 and 2016, it is asked: To what extent can a division between survivalist and growth-oriented entrepreneurial logics be demonstrated in the case of the street food sector in three African countries and how do these logics relate to gender?
Conclusions and policy implications This paper explored the aspirations of the micro- and informal enterprises in the street food sector in South Africa, Rwanda and Senegal
Summary
The street food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is a source of affordable and nutritious meals for the urban poor (Lues, Rasephei, Venter, & Theron, 2006; Namugumya & Muyanja, 2012; Ohiokpehai, 2003; Steyn et al, 2014), while being an important source of income for the women who dominate this sector (Bressers, Mohlakoana & de Groot, 2017; Graffham, Zulu, & Chibanda, 2005; Nackerdien & Yu, 2017). In this study of the street food sector in Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, micro- and informal enterprises are typically located in informal and formal trading areas along the streets and sidewalks near busy transport nodes and marketplaces. They operate in areas of heavy foot traffic where people can conveniently buy a meal or snack near or on the way to and from work or school during the day and into the evening (Battersby, Marshak, & Mngqibisa, 2016). In Rwanda, a milk drink called ikivuguto is very popular. It is fermented milk similar to sour drinking yoghurt and is considered a
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