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‘The peri-urban space at work’: micro and small enterprises, collective participation, and the developmental state in Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2019

Davide Chinigò
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Abstract

By discussing details of the current policy emphasis on entrepreneurship and microfinance, this article explores the dynamic and inconclusive negotiation of state authority in Kolfe Keraniyo, peri-urban Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In the last few years, Ethiopia embarked on a strategy of rapid transformation driven by what its political elite defined as a ‘developmental state’, which entailed the significant rescaling of the peri-urban space. The promotion of micro and small enterprises is an important aspect of the territorialization of state power in the peri-urban space, and is actively negotiated, challenged and refashioned. The first part of the article presents three central aspects of such projects: the policy of regularization and legalization; the notion of ‘group first’ or collective participation in the country's development; and the emphasis on ‘saving first’ to create micro-dynamics of capital accumulation. The second part of the article discusses how the beneficiaries of entrepreneurship initiatives mediate the normative framework provided by the developmental state, and highlights how that framework is neither inclusive nor particularly distinct in its effects from neoliberal development strategies. The article concludes that the making and unmaking of state authority is not unidirectional from above but operates through the redefinition of spatial and temporal boundaries from below.

Résumé

En s'intéressant de près à l'accent mis sur l'entreprenariat et la microfinance dans les politiques actuelles, cet article explore la négociation dynamique et non concluante de l'autorité de l’État à Kolfe Keraniyo, district périurbain d'Addis-Abeba (Éthiopie). Ces dernières années, l’Éthiopie s'est lancée dans une stratégie de transformation rapide portée par son élite politique et définie comme « État développementaliste » et impliquant un rééchelonnement important de l'espace périurbain. La promotion de micro et petites entreprises est un aspect important de la territorialisation du pouvoir de l’État dans l'espace périurbain et elle est activement négociée, contestée et refaçonnée. La première partie de l'article présente trois aspects centraux de ces projets : la politique de régularisation et de légalisation ; la notion de « group first » (le groupe avant tout) ou la participation collective au développement du pays ; et l'accent sur « saving first » (l’épargne avant tout) pour créer une micro-dynamique d'accumulation du capital. La deuxième partie de l'article examine comment les bénéficiaires d'initiatives en faveur de l'entreprenariat composent avec le cadre normatif fourni par l’État développementaliste, et souligne en quoi ce cadre n'est ni inclusif ni particulièrement distinct dans ses effets des stratégies de développement néolibérales. L'article conclut en disant que le processus de construction et de déconstruction de l'autorité de l’État n'est pas unidirectionnel du haut, mais passe par la redéfinition des limites spatiales et temporelles.

Type
Trade and enterprise
Information
Africa , Volume 89 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 79 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2019 

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