THE INFORMAL BUSINESS IN EASTLEIGH STREETS

(The plight of small scale business)

Eastleigh a little neighborhood commonly known “as the little Mogadishu” in Nairobi the Somali business center in Kenya it’s the second largest market in East and Central Africa.

Eastliegh became second home for Somali community after war erupted since 1990 where the country has been facing humanitarian crisis,
millions flew, and thousands lost their lives. Since then the country was upsurge of derailing political upheavals causing many Somalis to refuge and find places to restart their future in neighboring countries including Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.

However, Many Somali’s who are Somali Kenyans and other from Somalia have a business in Eastliegh market, some of them do their business in big shops “known as shopping mall centers”-impressive multistore, some uses the normal retail shops and others are as hawkers, peddles and majority who were unable to get such stores opts their hands.

Wheel barrow system in Eastleigh market

Fatuma Shire is amongst one of the hawkers who has small business in a wheelbarrow when you are walking along 1st avenue street in Eastliegh, Faadumo, 22years escaped from Somalia in the beginning of 2007 when Ethiopian troops who were packing Somalia’s week government arrived in Mogadishu end of 2006, she traveled form Mogadishu with a Small bus know as (Minibus) she came to Dhobley town at the border and arrived in Nairobi as refugee although encountered a lot of problems during her journey.

Fatuma told to Nairobi Star that traveling all the way from Somalia was tiresome, cumbersome, heroundous journey she has never witnessed in her life time, a journey which she said had change her perception never to leave her country if she knew what will be on her way to Nairobi.

“When I traveled from the Dhobley town a broker took $250 dollars for me to travel to Nairobi by using amini-bus from Dhoobley town, Somalia up to Garisa town, Kenya we were on the road for almost four days consecutive, the road we have used was rough, bumpy, dusty, where the driver was using a dilapidated route, over speeding we slept on the way at night which had lots of fear” Fatuma said

Fatuma came to the Nairobi safely after long tedious journey, she then observe the market feasibility in order to restart feature here in Nairobi, she started buying a wheelbarrow to engage informal small business to get her daily bread as hawker; she sells Trousers, shirts, skirts and other small materials in her little wheel barrow, Fatuma’s business now is very down due to the global recession she doesn’t have more costumers she told to Nairobi Star “I don’t have more costumers the first six months in the year, my business is slow until July”.

From July to end of the Year the informal small business especially the wheel barrow system and hawkers are enjoying the booming market also they had a good market at the Muslims Festival Eid ‘Eid Fitr and Eid Adha” and also during the Christmas ceremony on twenty five December, during such calendar the price of the commodities hike twice compared to the normal days.

Challenges

One of the most densely populated, high income area of Nairobi, Eastleigh streets, commercial developments is decentralized and largely and unregulated, lacking in all public services including proper drainage and sewage systems, dust, roads over crowded by Matatus which is the main form of transport.

However, hawkers and peddles are facing challenges during their informal business most of them who are Somali’s refugee in Nairobi, working in Eastliegh Streets as a businessmen or any other commitment it’s far away from the normal because you can face risk from the City Council, thieves that hurt and made away your properties, sanitation and big buses who are using the Eastliegh Jam streets also hawkers cant rent big malls to do formal business because they can’t pay the expensive rent.

Fatuma express agony on challenges they face as hawker saying that the city councils are mistreating, harassing and disturbing them the days in the week except weekend, Sometimes we are afraid from the buses known as “matatus” because of the street is Jam and they are using the road sides, the road is rough and muddy when it’s raining which can cause an outbreak of diseases”.

However, hawkers and peddles are making the prices down because of they are not paying rent and Taxes, Mohamed Ahmed one of the businessmen in a big shopping mall called AMAL told Nairobi Star “we are facing problems from the hawkers they are making the price of commodities down, they are not paying rent and taxes there are selling on cheap prices on the streets and we are feeling bad from that”

Hussein Mohamed Arr the deputy of Eastliegh business community association told Nairobi Star the major challenges the informal sector, hawkers are facing is spacing which he said its thorny issue to be tackled as head board in order to solve this problem but he also expressed great pain on lack of land in the Eastleigh saying there is lack inadequate land in the area.

We “Eastliegh business community association board must help the hawkers by giving them land that is legitimized for them to have peaceful environment that they engage their business activities”.

He ensured that the association is doing all necessary mechanism to help all business stakeholders, already they have met and talked to city council to a locate a space or a land that hawker to use for example the service line route in between third street and twelve”.

He appeal the local government to speed effort on giving land(space) to local businessmen saying they have made input on economic growth in the country since many refugees flock to the country.

Hussein also admit that there is high number of informal business in Eastleigh due to the ravaging abject poverty in the country especially in Horn of Africa that contributed people opting to do small business.

Despite they are refugees living in the country, the have manage nonetheless to forge global social and economical relations that link together their countries of origin, countries of asylum and countries of resettlement this transition network have help many refugees to become successful and entrepreneurs and prominent businessmen particularly in the informal business sector.

“We yielded a big improvement, whether business, education, or social gradation by help of the host countries” said one of the refugee asylumist.

Thus Eastliegh have been entrenched refugees stemming from horn of Africa, central and east Africa where they have cultivated and ability to operate successfully with in a social hostility and economical depressed environment.

Abdulkarim Mohamed Jimale (Muhsin) Mareeg.com