Who benefits from business in Africa?

In many African countries, legislation is shaped by private economic actors. Business law in Africa especially prioritizes the interests of multinational corporations.

However, this formal business law regime represents only about 10 percent of aggregate economic activity across Africa. The remaining 90 percent operates ‘informally’, meaning with little to no state involvement in enforcing contracts or providing social security. The so-called informal economy encompasses a range of activities from artisanal and agricultural production to skilled labour, transportation services, and innovative start-ups.

My research focuses on identifying the strategies workers and businesses use to enforce contracts and otherwise protect themselves, and on how these strategies can be supported with or without state involvement.

 

Kwamou Eva Feukeu 
leads the Institute’s Centre of Expertise on Africa. 
She conducts research on legal pluralism and decolonial legal theory.
More on Kwamou Eva Feukeu and her research can be found here.