Patch‐work: The economic and moral complementarity of informal entrepreneurs' multiple projects in Congo‐Brazzaville

Abstract

Although there are many studies on informal workers juggling multiple jobs, how workers differentiate their jobs economically and morally is less examined. Based on 18 months of fieldwork among urban middle‐class entrepreneurs in Brazzaville, this article argues that entrepreneurs in the informal economy work on multiple projects that complement each other in terms of economic gains and moralities, a pattern I call “patch‐work.” Some projects are pitched in entrepreneurial competitions to gain funds, awards, and training and traveling opportunities. Others can generate more stable cash flows to support other projects. Yet others are not for profit but rather to expand one's social network. Despite being unable to generate income quickly, projects deemed entrepreneurial are kept for years, as they have high moral value. Thus, rather than simply maximizing profits, an entrepreneur in the informal economy “patch‐works” to pursue economic, social, and moral goals at the same time. Moreover, the moral values are highly diverse and debated among the entrepreneurs, showing that they cannot be reduced to a single logic. Patch‐working shows that, rather than passively coping with precarity or following neoliberalism, some working in the informal economy actively construct their working patterns to meet their multifaceted pursuits.

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“…In addition to the multiple commercial projects Mpa manages, he also participates in public events to encourage Congolese youth to pursue education and entrepreneurship, he has launched projects to teach digital technologies, and he has launched a YouTube channel to teach coding. “In our chats, [Mpa] told me several times that he saw these events as opportunities to contribute to the community, which for him is an indispensable part of his entrepreneurial cause” (Ning, 2022, 95).…”

“…Scholars and policymakers alike are eager to know why and how successful entrepreneurs succeed and failed entrepreneurs fail. Some studies of entrepreneurship in the Global South feature ethnographies set in the “informal economy,” in which many who are officially considered unemployed instead live vibrant economic lives outside formal employment (Ning, 2022, 91).…”

“…In his research on entrepreneurship as work in the Congo, Ning (2022) describes an economic landscape full of very small, mostly nonemployer businesses for whom their work doubles as their way of contributing to their communities. For example, Ning (2022) tells the story of Mpa, an entrepreneur who makes most of his income from an e‐commerce shopping app he developed but who is strategically better known for a different app, with the lofty motto “Zero Hunger,” developed to connect Congolese farmers with markets. In the economic ecosystem in which Mpa and the other informants interviewed by Ning (2022) operate, business operators are not celebrated for their wealth and dizzying success.…”

“…For example, Ning (2022) tells the story of Mpa, an entrepreneur who makes most of his income from an e‐commerce shopping app he developed but who is strategically better known for a different app, with the lofty motto “Zero Hunger,” developed to connect Congolese farmers with markets. In the economic ecosystem in which Mpa and the other informants interviewed by Ning (2022) operate, business operators are not celebrated for their wealth and dizzying success. Rather, they are more likely to achieve renown through any work, product, or innovation they do that helps their communities, and they tend to downplay their biggest financial successes.…”

“…The value, for the entrepreneurs and for their people, lies in the more public works they innovate rather in what makes the most money. Eventually, Mpa gained something like life fame but not because of the ventures that made him the most money (Ning, 2022).…”