Appraisal of the Role of Informal Economic Enterprises in Minna, Nigeria

Abstract

The term ‘informal economic entreprises’ was foremost invented by the British anthropologist Hart in a research conducted in Accra, Ghana, where he observe that several people engaged in activities that are not clearly defined by the literature. Literature on the informal economic entreprises and institutional governance were studied to elaborate on concepts, characteristics, arguments and explanations as it related to good governance. Policy responses on the informal economy enterprises in Nigeria and other nations of the world were reviewed. Six government institutions relating to direct relationship with informal economic enterprises were studied. The study aimed at appraising the government institutional practices on development of informal economic enterprises in Minna; with the following objectives: general spatial and structural characteristics of informal economic enterprises and the financial status of the informal economic enterprises. A uniform number of informal economic enterprises were selected for the studies from the 12 neighbourhoods totaling 1,200 because of lack of accurate number of entrepreneurs from three main sub-sectors of informal economic enterprises. Random sampling technique was employed to administer the questionnaire to the respondents. This sample was used to gain insight into the characteristics of enterprises, and their opinions and perceptions on the practices of these selected government institutions. The study revealed that retailing was the predominant activity in the study area. It was also found that a higher percentage of operators were utilizing public space without formal authorization. The proliferation of these economic activities in public space also did not promote environmental aesthetics.