Don't Take It Out of Context: A Study of Entrepreneurship a Nairobi Slum

We draw on data collected during a three-month ethnographic study in an impoverished and marginalised slum community in Nairobi, Kenya, to show how contextual factors sometimes supersede strategic choice in the initiation of... [ view full abstract ]

We draw on data collected during a three-month ethnographic study in an impoverished and marginalised slum community in Nairobi, Kenya, to show how contextual factors sometimes supersede strategic choice in the initiation of entrepreneurship. We study two ‘entrepreneurial collectives’ that formed not for economic but for social reasons, but whose purpose evolved to fulfil the economic needs of individual members. We show how strong ties are cultivated in a context of perceived persecution, and subsequently how group allegiance helps to democratise scarce resources and opportunities, even when this comes at the expense of income maximisation.