Att starta eget - en väg till frigörelse? En kvalitativ studie om mikroföretagare i Sydafrika

Abstract

The aim of our study is to explore the empowerment process among micro-business owners in Kayamandi, a black township of Stellenbosch in South Africa. What are the positive and negative implications for the empowerment process? Another aim is to find out the role of local and international support in this process. The theoretical framework of this study revolves around the concepts of gender, power and empowerment. Our methods are qualitative interviews and observations. We have interviewed five micro-business owners; three women and two men. The conclusions of our study are that having one’s own business can be empowering for the individual person in many levels, especially for the women. Most important is the feeling of pride and independence to be your own employer, and also to be able to work with your passion on a daily basis. Our informants started their businesses on their own, without the help of the local organisation Greater Stellenbosch Development Trust (GSDT), but the organisation facilitates the business by providing housing and offering a micro-business course. The informants have an awareness about the inequalities, which remain vast in post-apartheid South Africa. They generally look positively upon the future for Kayamandi and South Africa as a whole. They feel that it is important to work together with the other people of the township and they want to help other people, not just run their own business. In that sense, the informants have a broad perspective upon their own situation as well as the society. Empowerment on the structural level is yet to be achieved. The main negative implications for the empowerment process are the lack of resources as well as the lack of influence within the organisation. Many of the informants have a critical view upon the organisation. GSDT is not a grass-root organisation and the informants sometimes complain about the lack of influence. International aid can be an important source of strength for the organisation and business owners, for example by taking the initiative to start a Support Group Committee where the business owners can make their voices heard. The micro-business owners have many individual skills and resources, and they are constantly struggling to overcome the obstacles that are surrounding them. We feel that there is a great deal of opportunities and with the right kind of support there can be a change for the people in Kayamandi. An important point here is not to see people as victims, but as agents who have lots of potential to develop themselves and their community.