Zimbabwean Migrant Entrepreneurs in Kempton Park and Tembisa, Johannesburg: Challenges and Opportunities

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 349-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chipo Hungwe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Short History ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Migrant Entrepreneurs ◽  
Human And Social Capital ◽  
Conditions Of Employment

The study explores the lives of seventeen Zimbabwean entrepreneurs studied in Tembisa and Kempton Park, Johannesburg in 2012. It analyses the structure of opportunity available to these entrepreneurs and argues that although migrants can create employment, they do not necessarily benefit the local populations because their businesses are too small and also because of their reluctance to employ locals whom they consider lazy and troublesome. Zimbabweans originally migrated to South Africa in search of good salaried jobs rather than self-employment. Self-employment is largely a result of dissatisfaction with the conditions of employment, inability to get desired jobs and having a better command of human and social capital. These migrants have a short history in self-employment and are the first to establish such economic ventures in their families. Their businesses thrive because of hardwork, engaging in activities that they are familiar with (thus they do not venture into complicated, unfamiliar territory) and relying on the neighbourhood which serves as a market. All the entrepreneurs studied view South Africa as a land of opportunities where one can establish himself/herself and survive, although the environment is riddled with xenophobia. However, most can be classified as survival entrepreneurs.

Towards Enhancing Migrant Social Entrepreneurship Through Social Capital in Durban, South Africa

2022 ◽  
pp. 71-95
Author(s):  
Ndwakhulu Stephen Tshishonga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Job Creation ◽  
Economic Sector ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Immigrant Entrepreneurs ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Migrant Entrepreneurs ◽  
Police Protection

This chapter interrogates the notion of social capital and its potential impact on enhancing or undermining the socio-economic efforts by migrants in Durban, South Africa. Tshishonga argues that it is through entrepreneurship that entrepreneurs transform their innovative and creative ideas into business enterprises and job creation. This chapter is concerned about migrant social entrepreneurial endevours as a source of livelihoods within the informal economic sector. Informal businesses initiated by migrants have proven to be successful and sustainable compared to that of the locals. Despite the challenges faced by migrant entrepreneurs such as financial deficit, xenophobia, anti-foreign policies, victimization, violence, and harassment absence of police protection, etc., these enterprises thrive. This chapter employs a case study method where 15 African immigrant entrepreneurs were targeted to determine how social capital is used to expand and sustain their businesses.

scholarly journals The effect of human and social capital on the knowledge of financing alternatives by new small business owners in South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 840-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olawale Fatoki
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Financing Constraints ◽  
Small Business Owners ◽  
Business Courses ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
Human And Social Capital ◽  
Specific Human Capital ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

The failure rate of new SMEs is very high in South Africa. Financing constraints is one of the major causes of failure. The knowledge of the alternative sources of finance can help to reduce the financing constraints faced by new SMEs. The study investigated the effect of human and social capital on the understanding of financing alternatives. Self- administered questionnaire was used in a survey to collect data from data were from 136 owners of new SMEs in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The Cronbach’s alpha was used as a measure of internal consistency. Descriptive statistics and independent samples T-test used for data analysis. The results indicated that new SME owners with higher levels of generic and specific human capital have a better knowledge of financing alternatives. There are significant differences in the level of education and business courses and the knowledge of factoring, venture capital, Alt-X, bootstrapping, Islamic baking and crowdfunding. New SME owners with social capital as measured by direct and indirect ties have a better knowledge of financing alternatives.

Entrepreneurial Training for Unemployed Adults: Challenges and Opportunities in Accessing Financial Services in South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 453-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celestin Mayombe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Security Requirements ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Entrepreneurial Training ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
Training Delivery

Entrepreneurship training programmes and self-employment initiatives for unemployed adults has become a new frontier for poverty reduction in South Africa. This article investigates the types of challenges graduates encounter and opportunities in accessing financial services in order to start-up and grow an own micro-enterprise in South Africa. The main findings reveal that micro-finance institutions are keen to grant loans and credits to graduates from entrepreneurial training centres. However, graduates are not eligible for credits because they fail to meet the security requirements of the lending banks due to their socio-economic situations. The author concludes that if centre managers do not involve micro-finance institutions prior to the training delivery and transition stages of the entrepreneurial training programmes, graduates will continue finding it difficult to access financial services and enter self-employment after obtaining the required entrepreneurship skills.

Ethnic niching in a segmented labour market: Evidence from Spain

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikolaj Stanek ◽  
Alberto Veira
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Immigrant Workers ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Immigrant Communities ◽  
Logit Models ◽  
Human And Social Capital

Using the Spanish National Immigrant Survey (NIS-2007) we identify the ethnic niches where workers from five main immigrant communities concentrate. We then implement logit models in order to assess how structural factors and human and social capital variables affect the odds of working in these niches. We observe that the strong segmentation of the Spanish labour market strongly favours the concentration of immigrants in certain occupational niches. Nevertheless, variables related to human and social capital still play a significant role in the placement of immigrant workers in different niches, all of which are not equally attractive. 

A successful person, society and civic activism

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1800-1816
Author(s):  
G.B. Kozyreva ◽  
T.V. Morozova ◽  
R.V. Belaya
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Russian Society ◽  
The Public ◽  
Civic Activism ◽  
The Social ◽  
Human And Social Capital ◽  
Person Model ◽  
Social Disparity

Subject. The article provides considerations on the formation and development of a successful person model in the modern Russian society. Objectives. The study is an attempt to model a successful person in the Russian society, when the ideological subsystem of the institutional matrix is changing. Methods. The study relies upon the theory of institutional matrices by S. Kirdina, theories of human and social capital. We focus on the assumption viewing a person as a carrier of social capital, which conveys a success, socio-economic position, social status, civic activism, doing good to your family and the public, confidence in people and association with your region. The empirical framework comprises data of the sociological survey of the Russian population in 2018. The data were processed through the factor analysis. Results. We devised a model of a successful person in today's Russian society, which reveals that a success, first of all, depends on the economic wellbeing and has little relation to civic activism. The potential involvement (intention, possibility, preparedness) in the social and political life significantly dominates the real engagement of people. The success has a frail correlation with constituents of the social capital, such as confidence in people and doing good to the public. Conclusions and Relevance. Based on the socio-economic wellbeing, that is consumption, the existing model of a successful person proves to be ineffective. The sustainability of socio-economic wellbeing seriously contributes to the social disparity of opportunities, which drive a contemporary Russian to a success in life.

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