Differentiation among Small-Scale

Enterprises: The Zambian Clothing Industry in Lusaka

Soweto Market

Informal Sector Characteristics

Small-scale operationsUse of labor-intensive techniquesLow technologyIndigenous ownershipHeterogeneous

Three Categories of Ownership

Asian communityZambian WomenZambian Men

Small-Scale Women in the Clothing Industry

ProblemsLimited marketsDomestic responsibilitiesNecessity of husband’s permissionCultural attitudes toward womenLower access to financial support and

creditConcentrated in second-hand clothing

Upper Income Women in the Clothing Industry

Boutique-style outletsProduce for the upscale marketHigh quality fashion garmentsGreater capital input and foreign

exchangeFashion courses abroadNetwork of personal contactsFormal education

Zambian Businessmen in Small-Scale ManufacturingNot very successfulLack ties to wholesalersControlled marketsLack of investment capitalLow skill baseHigh operating costsNo secure market

Workshop Tailors: A Challenge to the Asian Dominance of the Clothing

IndustryTailors can produce low-cost clothingNumerous small workshopsLocated near large market areasSmall capital outlayRely on network of repeat customersAllows for reliable customer baseExtend credit

The “Veranda” TailorsCapital base is smallerOutdoorsAround their residencesOn the veranda of a storeConcentrate on repair servicesPoorer clienteleRetired men or young men

Petty Producers: Toward Evolution or Involution?

Owner, worker, manager often the sameRarely movement into large-scale

productionSometimes expansion within enterpriseObstacle is need for expensive inputsDifferent relationship with marketLow purchasing power of population

The Effect of Salaula on the Lusaka Clothing

IndustryMany shops owned by the Asian

communityMost Zambians work for AsiansWork for commissionsTeachers, doctors, nurses, secretariesThreat to indigenous clothing industryHigh volume of salaulaZambian government at a fault

Who Rules the Streets? The Politics of Vending

Space in LusakaInformality vs. the Free

Market in Zambia

Overview 1997: New City

Market

1998: Crowding Traffic problems Public health dangers Pickpockets and thieves Businesses relocated

1999: Crackdown Vendor stalls

demolished

Why the Crackdown? Law and order

Sanitation

Health

Infrastructure

Growth of Informal SectorSecond Republic: 1972-1991Response to shortages of basic

necessities“Suitcase Traders”1990s: Structural AdjustmentNeoliberal economic strategiesSouth African companiesLack of formal economic development

The “Office of the President” and the “Vendors’ Desk”

1993: LCC removes street vendorsPresident Chiluba intervenedBlamed the LCC for not giving other spacesViewed as government acceptance of stallsLeft markets and descended on city center1996: Vendors’ Desk established

Address concerns of vendors

The New City MarketChiluba calls for an “ultra modern

market”Based on ones he saw in IsraelReplaced the old Soweto marketVendors demonstratedPromised stands in the new marketVendors set up stalls in new marketQuickly left

ComplaintsExodus within first days of new marketConflicts: vendors, police, LCCMake-shift stalls burned on opening

nightRule: no vending within 200 MHigh feesVendors shunned the market

The Crackdown on Street Vendors

April 1999: Occupancy at 10%Police and paramilitary officersRazed temporary stalls in city centerContinued across the cityVendors moved back to the marketsChiluba encouraged the crackdown

The Timing of the Crackdown

Market open and nearly empty for two years

Vacant stands in other marketsCostly exerciseEnvironmental and health concernsProvide basic infrastructure Establish public orderMaintain supervision

Embracing the Free Market: Removing Vendors from Public

SpacesUrban markets upgrading program: EDFMust fill markets if upgrading themOpening market to potential vendorsMust end lawlessness and anarchy on

streetsGoal: improve overall investment climateMarket and mall developments continueVendors continue to return to the streets

Where did the Vendors Go?

Mobile stands that are dismantled easily

Retreating into Old Soweto MarketReturning to the city streetsAnother crackdown in August of 2002Conflict between vendors and the

local authority continues

Home Based Enterprise in a Period of Economic

Restructuring in Zambia

Why Home-Based Enterprises?

Disillusionment with formal sector jobsPublic sector restructuringInadequate incomesHigh rates of urban poverty1992-1995: 77,300 formal sector jobs lost1986-1993: 1.8 to 2.3 in informal sectorContinued privatization is a threat to jobs

The Copperbelt Province7 urban districts

(86%)3 rural districts (14%)7 major copper

minesDecline in formal jobsKitwe

Mine TownshipCouncil Township

Pilot Study of Home-Based Enterpises

1. Explore how enterprises were established

2. How the home was adapted for activities

3. Challenges/opportunites in home work

Emphasis: How workplace and residential activities and spaces were integrated

Range of Economic Activities

Three CategoriesPetty trading or retailingPetty manufacturing or repairServices

Engaged in simultaneous enterprises

Who is Involved?Both men and womenAverage age is 30Not below 20 or above 45Some have formal educationChildren were involvedInformal networks of family and

friends

Why are People Involved?The need for employment and incomeThe type of enterpriseAdvantage of working from homeTwo major groups of people

Informal sector is the last resortFormal sector separation by choice

Ability to earn substantial incomes

Beneficial Characteristics of HBEs

RentfreeSimultaneous engagement in several HBEsChildcare by household membersSite of storage and productionMixed use of house and landDomestic and economic functions at one

siteConduct business at any time of dayNon-monetary exchange networks

Negative Aspects of HBEsOperational constraintsLack of access to financial supportInfrastructural constraintsDifficulty in starting an HBE

Resource mobilization -- savings, friends, family

Limited skills

The Home as a Work PlaceAdaptability and Fungibility

Space can be converted quicklySpatial changes only inconvenient

when visitors are comingIntrusion of business generally

acceptedSpace to build workshops, sheds,

rooms

ConclusionsHBEs are not transient, stop-gap

measuresLucrative despite constraintsChanged landscape in residential areasShould trend be stopped or regulated?New concepts:

Land use zoningPlot usage

RecommendationsBroaden conceptual categories of home

useIncome generating activities as valid and

normalReevaluate strict land-use controlsNew focus in city planning

To assist development of HBEsTo mitigate negative effects

Planners must increase focus on HBEs