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PETTY TRADING IN A REVIVING ECONOMY II; A DECADE LATER:
Mobile phones powering businesses and changing daily routines
Yaw Dankwa (June 2005)
The original discussion of this issue appeared as ‘Petty Trading in a Reviving Economy; The Implications for motorized transport organizations’ in Grieco M., Apt A., Turner J. (eds) (1996) At Christmas and on rainy days, Transport, Travel and the Female Traders of Accra Aldershot: Avebury
After a decade this issue has taken an additional agenda and implication in the location of study. The major factor being the cellular phone subscription- “the Digital Divide” (The selected areas of study in the original issue in 1994 included. Ashiaman, Madina, Kaneshie, Teshie and the Burma Camp area, all in Accra). These communities have relatively higher populations of low income groups with petty trading being a major occupation of the females and children.
Indeed it is not just the high income groups who have been affected by the technological leapfrog. The lower income groups have also been liberated in a way or the other (though with some strings attached) by the mobile privileges of being freed of the burden of geography in life and business.
Let’s revisit a few points made in the original study and later the growth and change after a decade.
Old Ways:
I. Petty Traders had to make family arrangement well in advance to get organized for the next trading day (most petty trading businesses are family based). Somebody will have to stay at the trading point in the market whilst another travels to the wholesale shop to get the products to the market.
II. There was never a prefixed agenda with the whole seller. It was ‘as and when you are available.’
III. Longer time periods spent in getting deliveries meant that some children would have to stay away from school and wait at the market as deliveries delayed. At least a child would have to miss a whole day school attendance in a week. In the original study it was mentioned categorically that “the African child by age 8 is a trader”.
IV. Poor travel arrangements and congestions lead to high cost of travel, delays in delivery, low turn over rate for traders, lower quality for perishable goods and low earnings.
V. Petty trading was limited to particular line of goods. Mostly these traders dealt in immediate consumables because of late deliveries and immobility; and would only go for smaller quantities at a time. Meaning much frequent travels and its associated problems as discussed above.
New Ways.
After 10 years I have revisited this issue which I never expected and it tells me one thing. The issue of change in business and life is technologically motivated. It is true that the rapid growth is driven by need.
Let’s have a look at a mobile telephone interview with a petty trader in Madina- Accra; one of the select study areas in the original issue.
‘Cellular Power’
NB. The interviewer was based in the UK and the interview in Accra- (30th May 2005)
Interviewee- Tina
Interviewer- Yaw (was involve in the research in 1995)
Tina is married, a mother of 2, a petty trader and caterer in a government department.
She has no ‘house help’ which is usually expected of every household.
How does she combine petty trading (as a family business) and cattery in a government department?
Y. How do you combine petty trading, your job in the government sector and caring for your family. It sounds impossible?
T. No it is possible. With technology everything is possible. Have you forgotten that you are even fare in the UK yet you are able to conduct this interview with me based in Ghana at a very low cost?
Y. How do you go about your daily routine? Trading, caring for the family and job in the government department?
T. The trading is done mainly at evening. I make orders for my delivery by phone and they come right to my shop. I pay a little extra for delivery and for my mobile phone time and that is all.
Y. Do you have a landline phone in your house just in case you cannot use the mobile phone?
T. My house does not have access to landline and if you want it, it means more investment in the business. Why not the mobile at a good cost and with more flexibility and mobility? I am able to make my order whilst at work as a caterer and I am also able to communicate with my mates at work whilst I work in my shop.
Y. Do you have anybody supporting you in the shop?
T. Not particularly. I only call on some people whom I pay just for the time I think I am not too well to sit in the shop for a longer period. Gone are the days when you have to get a member of the family to take care of your shop so that you could travel to refill you shop. That was expensive and even risky for the security of your business.
Y. Is this the first time in petty trading business or you have ever been involved in one?
T. No. As you know we all traded with our parents when we were you but this is my first personal business.
Y. Can you tell me the difference between the business now and some years ago when you were trading with your parents.
T. Yes the difference is clear. The problem of children being involved in family trade at the expense of other activities like education and social events seem to be fading out gradually. I am able to trade on my own with the involvement of other family member or my children. But I will also say that I will not like the children to stay away totally from the trading because is a way of upbringing and trading.
Again delivery is faster and business is much swifter than we knew years ago.
Y. Would you say the modern technology has affected petty trading in your locality?
T. Definitely. The mobile phone is a big contribution. We cannot do business without it. All my mates in the business use it and we see it as a basic need in our everyday life
Gone are the days when we thought mobile phones were for luxury. We actually need them. My father is 70 and he owns a mobile phone. Even though he is not in active business he believes it is necessary to have it otherwise we cannot communicate with him easily.
Y. Thank you for the interview.
T. You are well come. Anytime you come to Ghana get me one of the most recent phones. We need them here for all purposes of life.
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Policy Implications:
An interesting issue was raised on the Ghana Home page during the 2004 General elections in Ghana. Let’s think about it as contributors to technology and development.
“Embargo is placed on any form of political party campaign 24 hours before the election. Thus no political advert is heard on radio, seen on Television or in the print media. Technology shows its beautiful head, the cheating politicians, no pun intended are sending SMS messages across the country like crazy reminding voters who they should vote for. Of course, email messages containing campaign messages flow through the cyber face. One day the Ghana's Electoral Commission must figure out how to deal with the use of new technologies to flout this embargo”
What do you think about this? Let’s debate and come out with some ideas.
Consider this issue also in the discussion and link them to other economic activities.
“Two key GSM mobile phones operators (Spacefon and Mobitel) are enabling their subscribers to access in real time certified elections results. Mobile Content a mobile content provider is working with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to make this project possible.” (Ghana Home Page )
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