Neighbourhood and district economic development
The majority of African urban residents live and work in informal settlements, engaged in small-scale, often home-based economic activities. Earnings from these activities are typically low and precarious, with informal moneylenders providing vital services to residents, but usually on exploitative terms.
Some residents work beyond their neighbourhood, through their own microenterprises or employed by larger businesses, which tend to be more stable, regularised and with better established markets. However, due to unreliable infrastructure services and limited benefits of co-location in African cities, there are few such firms, so their contribution to poverty reduction and structural transformation is limited.
Looking through ACRC’s political economy lens, neighbourhood and district economic development reflects the distribution of economic and land rent in the local economy. City systems need to be mobilised so that enterprises can function smoothly. The living standards of the urban poor in these neighbourhoods could therefore be improved by strengthening city economies, generating “decent work” opportunities and boosting entrepreneurial skills. This involves a wide range of key actors, including economic development agencies, business/trade associations, informal business networks, trade unions and other labour organisations, and local politicians.
Within the neighbourhood and district economic development domain, we are focusing on the following cities:
LATEST NEWS from ACRC


Household microenterprises in African cities: A conversation with Selina Pasirayi and Rollins Chitika
Ademola Omoegun talks to two city-based researchers from the neighbourhood and district economic development domain – Selina Pasirayi (Harare) and Rollins Chitika (Lilongwe) – about the critical role that household microenterprises (HMEs) play in African cities.


Gendered experiences of rural migrant youth in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
“I have lived everything there is to be lived in this city. Now I need to leave because all that is left for me here is misery and I want a better life for my child.”


Gender and (in)formal security provision in Maiduguri, Nigeria
While on fieldwork in Maiduguri, I met Aisha (not her real name), who introduced herself as the commander of the vigilante group in her community.