Abstract
Informal cross-border trading can help to achieve the sustainable development goals through positive macroeconomic and social ramifications, such as income creation and food security, especially for poor households. This research examines how the informal cross-border trading is achieving sustainable development goals in a challenging economic situation in Zimbabwe. Qualitative design was used as a method, as it allowed the collection of detailed information from the participants through semi-structured interviews, which was the major data collection tool. Twenty-five informal cross-border traders were selected through snowball sampling. Secondary data was used for comparative analysis in order to reveal the achievements of the millennium development goals and the sustainable development goals by the informal cross-border trading before and during the cash crisis, since this research was undertaken during Zimbabwe’s cash crisis economy period. Data analysis was done from an interpretive approach using thematic analysis. The results revealed that the informal cross-border trade plays a vital role in achieving, particularly the millennium development goals 1, 2 and 3 and the sustainable development goals 1, 2, 4 and 5. The informal cross-border trading improves the lives of those who are engaged in it through poverty alleviation, income creation, employment creation and by improving food security. The income created from the informal cross-border trade assists traders in accessing different goods and services needed for survival. The research recommends a strong support from the Zimbabwean government to this sector as it is a potential medium for achieving the sustainable development goals.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
African Development Bank (2015) Growth, Poverty, and Inequality Nexus: Overcoming Barriers to Sustainable Development. African Development Report, African Development Bank Group, number 2342, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Babah D, Falylath PT, Ingenbleek M, Van Trijp HCM (2019) Living the African Dream: how subsistence entrepreneurs move to middle-class consumer markets in developing and emerging countries. J Public Policy Market 38(1):42–60
Blankson C, Cowan K, Darley WK (2018) Marketing practices of rural micro and small businesses in Ghana: the role of public policy. J Macro Market 38(1):29–56
Brenton P, Soprano C (2018) Small-scale border trade in Africa: why it matters and how it should be supported. Bridges Africa 7(4):3–6
Chikanda A, Tawodzera G (2017) Informal entrepreneurship and cross-border trade between Zimbabwe and South Africa (rep. i-41). Waterloo, ON: Southern African Migration Programme. SAMP Migration Policy Series No. 74
City of Gweru (2012) City of Gweru master plan written statement. Gweru, Gweru City Council
Costanza R, Fioramonti L, Kubiszewski I (2016) The UN sustainable development goals and the dynamics of well-being. Front Ecol Environ 14(2):59–79
Dumbu E (2018) Banking the unbanked: perceptions of the international cross-border women entrepreneurs in Beitbridge, Zimbabwe. London J Res Manage Bus 18(1):16–25
Gaidzanwa R (1998) Cross-border trade in southern Africa: a gendered perspective. In: Sachikonye L (ed) Labour markets and migration policy in Southern Africa. Harare, SAPES Trust
Jerie S (2016) Occupational risks associated with solid waste management in the informal sector of Gweru, Zimbabwe. J Environ Public Health 16(10):11–55
Kahiya E, Kadirov D (2020) Informal cross-border trade as a substratum marketing system: a review and conceptual framework. J Macro Market 40(1):88–109
Kamete A (2017) Governing enclaves of informality: unscrambling the logic of the camp in urban Zimbabwe. J Geoforum 81:76–86
Kanyenze G (2011) African migrant labour situation in Southern Africa. Paper Presented at the ICFTU-AFRO Conference on ‘Migrant Labour,’ Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ), Nairobi
Koroma S, Nimarkoh J, You N, Ogalo V, Owino B (2017) Formalization of Informal Trade in Africa: Trends, Experiences and Socio-Economic Impacts. In: CUTS international–food and agriculture organizations of the United Nations, regional office for Africa, Ghana. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7101e.pdf. Accessed 04 Aug 2020
Kurebwa J (2015) Thevulnerability of female cross-border traders to HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe: the case of Beitbridge Border Post. IOSR J Humanit Soc Sci 20:65–69
Lu Y et al (2015) Policy: five priorities for the UN sustainable development goals. Nature 520(7548):432–433
Madzwamuse M (2010) Climate governance in Africa: Adaptation strategies and institutions. Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS), Berlin
Manjokoto C, Ranga D (2017) Opportunities and challenges faced by women involved in informal cross-bordertrade in the City of Mutareduring a prolonged economic crisis in Zimbabwe. J Indian Ocean Reg 13(1):25–39
Matsa M (2007) Environmental factors related to the spread of pollutants around Gweru dumpsite. Unpublished MA dissertation. Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Zimbabwe, Harare
MSD (2014) Meteorological service department: Zimbabwe weather report, June 2014. Harare, Zimbabwe
Muzvidziwa V (2015) Women without borders: informal cross-border trade among women in the Southern African development community region (SADC). OSSREA, Addis Ababa
Mwaniki J (2005) The impact of informal cross-border trade on regional integration in SADC and implications for wealth creation. IRED-ESA (The Corn Thematic Coordinator ForCross-Border Trade) Accessed 16 March 2013
Nilsson M, Griggs D, Visbeck M (2016) Policy: map the interactions between sustainable development goals. Nature 534(10):320–322
Nkoroi I (2016) Assessing the informal cross-border trade between Kenya and Uganda. Int Acad J Arts Humanit 1(1):54–90
Ritzer G (1999) Sociological theory, 4th edn. Sociology Series, McGraw Hill International Editions
Rizzo MJ (2016) Behavioural economics and deficient willpower: searching for Akrasia. Georgetown J Law Public Policy 14(1):789–806
Rugube L, Matshe I (2011) Economy livelihoods: Africa in informal cross-border traders and the creation of the SADC Common Market. In: Kondo K.W, Ejiogu C (eds) Africa in focus: Governance in the 21st century. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council
Peterson M, Zehra SS (2018) Putting African country development into macro marketing perspective. In: Agarwal J, Wu T (eds) Emerging Issues in Global Marketing. Springer, Cham, pp. 333–368. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74129-1_13
Sachs JD (2012) From millennium development goals to sustainable development goals. Lancet 379(9832):2206–2211
Sandada M (2014) Transition from informality to formality perceptions of informal traders in the Harare metropolitan area. Int J Econ Commerce Manage 2(1):6–12
Sommer L, Nshimbi C (2018) The African continental free trade area: an opportunity for informal cross-border trade. Bridges Africa 7(4):7–11
Vlaev I (2018) Local choices: rationality and the contextuality of decision-making. J Brain Sci 8(1):1–22
Weyl GE (2019) Price theory. J Econ Lit 57(2):329–384
ZimStat (2012) Census preliminary report 2012. Harare, Zimbabwe
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dzawanda, B., Matsa, M. (2021). From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals Through Informal Cross-Border Trading: An Escape for the Poor in a Suffocating National Economy in Gweru, Zimbabwe. In: Leal Filho, W., Pretorius, R., de Sousa, L.O. (eds) Sustainable Development in Africa. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74693-3_34
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74693-3_34
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-74692-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-74693-3
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)