par Tshikovhi, Ndivhuho
Président du jury Verwimp, Philip
Promoteur Gosselain, Olivier
Co-Promoteur Shambare, Richard R
Publication Non publié, 2019-06-01
Thèse de doctorat
Résumé : It is argued in this research that many modern-day African states share a set of characteristics in their political ideology and economic doctrines which stem from a shared history of colonialism and forms of foreign occupation and subjugation of indigenous peoples. Historically, evidence shows that colonialism in Africa resulted in economic disparity through the skewed land and business ownership, unequal education systems, and unequal opportunities in employment and business. In response to these historical dynamics a prevailing nationalist political ideology of indigenisation in African states has resulted in systems of legislation which are designed to support the economic empowerment of native people with the intention of structural transformation of economies by, amongst other things, supporting indigenous entrepreneurship through incentives and other policy supports. Policies such as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in South Africa and Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (IEE) in Zimbabwe are archetypes of this policy explicitly aligned with this indigenisation project and designed to uplift indigenous people’s participation in economic activities.In this context of a political economy of empowerment-oriented political ideology and legislative and policy frameworks in African states, this research seeks to define the features of indigenous entrepreneurship, which is the natural focus of much of the indigenisation project. It is theorised in this research that these factors combine to form a unique form of entrepreneurship, here termed indigenous entrepreneurship in the modern African state. Additionally, this research recognises that there appears to be a significant gap between economic empowerment policy objectives and the actual performance of indigenous entrepreneurs, and that this gap seems to be widening. Despite this wide-scale programme, economic participation by indigenous peoples in southern African states is poor. The total entrepreneurial activity of indigenous people in southern Africa remains lower compared to their compatriots. In South Africa, unemployment rates amongst indigenous people is estimated between 30 to 40 percent, and in Zimbabwe it is between 60 to 90 percent, with these rates continually rising. Furthermore, the BEE policies’ equity transfer approach has not resulted in significant wealth redistribution to marginalised groups but rather tends towards a few Black African elites with political connections. The research develops a conceptual model of indigenous entrepreneurship in the modern African state based on a thorough review of the literature on indigenous entrepreneurship and the two case study countries of South Africa and Zimbabwe. The testing of this conceptual model through empirical research answers the research questions related to defining the features of indigenous entrepreneurship, assessing the influence of indigenisation ideology and economic empowerment policies on indigenous entrepreneurship, and determining the barriers that apply to indigenous entrepreneurship in the modern African state.The study adopts a qualitative longitudinal case study design, whereby in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with respondents repeatedly over time. Fifty two indigenous entrepreneurs practising within the geographical areas of Pretoria and Johannesburg in South Africa, and Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, operating formal enterprises were sampled. The study adopted a purposive and later snowballing sampling technique to solicit indigenous entrepreneur respondents. ATLAS.ti software was used to organise interview transcript data into themes. Content and thematic analyses were utilised to organise data. Additionaly, R statistical software was used to analyse themes to create data cluster analysis. The theoretical propositions that indigenous entrepreneurship would be shaped by the indigenisation ideology and economic empowerment policies proved to be only partly confirmed. Surprisingly, the indigenous entrepreneurship businesses themselves proved to be varied and modern in nature, operating in sectors including auditing, construction, events management, information technology, mining, retail and transport and logistics. The theoretical propositions related to indigenous entrepreneurship practices were more strongly confirmed, as the approach to acquiring customers, marketing the business, finding business opportunities were strongly located within indigenous social relations and strategies informed by culture. The exception was the finding that suppliers tended to be non-indigenous, which reinforces the picture of indigenous entrepreneurship in the modern African state as being a hybrid model of indigenous cultural and modern economic practices. The landscape of business opportunities are located in a modernising economic paradigm, while the practices located within the business itself including many of the standard modern business activities such as customer acquisition have an indigenous character.The findings reveal that there are exogenous factors which both support and inhibit indigenous entrepreneurship. The indigenisation ideology is a strong positive influence on the willingness and motivation to engage in entrepreneurship as it casts such activities as acts of restoring cultural pride and rectifying historical injustices. The economic empowerment legislative environment is tangible and a pervasive factor for entrepreneurs, with many benefiting directly from some aspects of operation of the policies. However, numerous barriers exist to the application of the policies, such as corruption, lack of policy information and difficulties in understanding and complying with complexities of the policies in both countries. Similarly, endogenous factors such as the lack of capital, adequate education, and training resulted in minimal use of the policy incentives by entrepreneurs. Consequently, this study developed a practical bottom-up framework to promote indigenous entrepreneurship practice. Recommendations for policy-makers and entrepreneurs include consistent consultations, assessment, and evaluation mechanisms for policy and practice incentives.

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