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Commerce and Community: Paths to Success for Malian Merchants*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Richard L. Warms
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For many young Malian men, trade offers, or seems to offer, the possibility of escape from the poverty endemic to their society. Important traders are well dressed, well fed, have large families and entree to high circles of wealth and power (Amselle 1987a). Many believe that, through dint of hard work, savvy and a with little luck, anyone can become a successful trader.

While no one knows exactly how many attempt a career in commerce, Malian cities and towns teem with boys and men engaged in petty trade. Women are also involved in trade, though most deal only in small quantities of cooked food or garden produce. Men and boys sell pre-recorded cassettes, cigarettes, kola and other inexpensive merchandise. All believe that if they do the right things, and it is the will of God, they will succeed.

Success, for men, means progressively increasing the size of their business and eventually owning a large store, several trucks or another large enterprise. Women generally do not operate financially important businesses. However, they may have substantial behind-the-scenes investment in them.

For a Malian man, becoming a prosperous merchant can be seen as a process of joining a commercial community. The members of the commercial community control access to the wealth and the connections that can transform a poor shopkeeper into a wealthy merchant. Aspiring merchants must follow a course of action that allows them to identify increasingly with and be accepted by this community.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , September 1994 , pp. 97 - 120
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1994

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Footnotes

*

This work was supported by a grant from the Shell Foundation for International Research in Developing Areas. I am indebted to the reviewers at African Studies Review for their extremely helpful comments. Responsibility for the views expressed is, of course, mine alone

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