This archive report was first published on 10 November 2021.
Published on November 10, 2021, a visit to Makola market in Accra, Ghana revealed a bustling scene reminiscent of Gikomba market in Nairobi. The market was full of carts, but less crowded, with traders selling everything from bread to cooked food and clothes.
At 8pm, some traders danced on the streets to loud music while a preacher tried to reach out to the crowd. The small-scale businessmen and women sell a variety of goods, including foodstuffs like yams and onions, and even Madafu.
It's clear that hustling is universal, with men and women starting small or even living small. No matter how much we praise large companies, SMEs remain the backbone of most economies.
Informal sectors contribute significantly to employment in both Ghana and Kenya, with about 80 per cent of employment coming from this sector in Ghana. In Accra, motor bikes are not as prominent as they are in Nairobi, and there have been talks of banning them.
Access to capital has been cited as a big hurdle for SME growth, with high interest rates being a major challenge. One bank in Ghana has an interest rate of 22.75 per cent, down from 26 per cent, while micro-finance institutions have even higher rates.
A finance expert explained that Kenya's fiscal consolidation under the Mwai Kibaki administration helped reduce interest rates. However, beyond high interest rates, hustlers everywhere suffer from neglect, with poorly lit, overcrowded, and lacking basic amenities working spaces.
It's time we stopped talking about hustlers and focused more on improving their working environment. Hustlers are serious men and women proud of their self-reliance, and it's paradoxical that we neglect the vast majority of the population while complaining about joblessness, insecurity, and slow growth rates.
Out of their experimentation, we could get the next generation of African multinationals.
