Paper short abstract:

This paper challenges the idea that large informal economies signal the structural irrelevance of African workers to the global economy. Using examples from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, I will show that the informal economic expansion is associated with new forms of inclusion in global capitalism.

Paper long abstract:

Despite over a decade of growth averaging 5% across Sub-Saharan Africa, the bulk of the population still experiences unacceptable levels of poverty, catastrophic unemployment and relegation to vast informal economies. In this paper, I will show that the expansion of African informal economies is no longer a product of global economic exclusion, but results from new forms of inclusion in the global market economy.

Perspectives on the role of African workers in contemporary capitalism reveal two divergent strands. On the one hand, tales of poverty and informality warn of a labour force that is functionally irrelevant to the global capitalist system. On the other hand, global corporations and development agencies are emphasizing the dynamic potential of Africa's rapidly growing young populations and large informal economies which are being celebrated as central players in the rise of inclusive capitalism.

In this paper, I will examine the role of African informal workers in 21st century capitalism. Focusing on the rise of outsourcing, labour brokers and social enterprises, I will explore the new institutional ecosystems emerging to link global firms to African informal workers. Case studies from South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria will show how new types of intermediaries serve to facilitate the sourcing and control of informal labour outside the protection of formal employment, producing new more precarious forms of economic inclusion.