Opportunities and challenges for women informal cross-border traders in the context of the African continental free trade area: a case of Zimbabwe.

Abstract

The study was inspired by the need to understand the prospects and challenges for women informal cross-border traders in Zimbabwe in light of the AFCFTA. The theoretical cornerstones of the study were the Complex Interdependence Theory by Joseph Nye and Robert Keohane and Entrepreneurial feminism theory by Barbra Orser and Catherine Elliott. Through an interpretivist research philosophy, the case study research design was chosen to as it afforded the researcher an opportunity to gather detailed data using a variety of data collection methods. With a qualitative research approach, the researcher collected more clearer findings. A mixture of purposive and random sampling, the researcher collected data using questionnaires and interviews. The key findings of the research were that women informal cross border traders face some challenges which include lack of access to capital, Gender Based Violence (GBV), negative societal perceptions, corruption, among others. Without adequate information on trade policies, they are harassed and forced to surrender their goods, stop services they will be rendering to clients during business hours. The study concluded that if the government creates an enabling environment, women informal cross border traders can achieve more than they already have. Close analysis of the AfCFTA drove the researcher into concluding that its provisions on gender equality in the trade matrix is the biggest prospect that Zimbabwean women informal cross-border traders stand to benefit from. Despite these measures more can be done to ensure that more information on trade policies is disseminated to women informal cross border traders.