Young Men on the Move to Polish Shoes in the Metropolis,

Augustine Tanle*

Abstract In sub-Saharan Africa, young unemployed persons often migrate to the cities in search of employment, especially in the informal sector. This paper focuses on young migrants in the shoe-shine business which is common in Ghana but has attracted little or no research over the years. The study, which is guided by the migration networks theory and a conceptual framework on migration of young people to the urban informal sector, shows that the main motive for migrating is economic. There are migration networks which make it possible for new members to join the business. Most of the young migrants claim they have personally benefited from the business and are able to cater for their households better than before, while others have invested their earnings in various small projects at the places of origin, which has created some employment for others in the community. It is recommended that the government and the relevant stakeholders should occasionally organize entrepreneurship training for the shoe-shine operators to enable them operate effectively and sustain their business. Keywords: young migrants, shoe-shine business, informal sector, Cape Coast Metropolis

*Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

Author’s email address: [email protected]

Ghana Journal of Geography Vol. 10(2), 2018 pages 112 – 128 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjg.v10i2.8 112 Ghana Journal of Geography Vol. 10(2), 2018 pages 112–128

Introduction

Globally, migration of young people within and across regions is a common phenomenon, particularly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This could be partly attributed to the fact that they are more likely to migrate than any other age group (World Bank, 2012; World Development Report, 2013). In sub-Saharan Africa, it has been widely documented in the literature that young people (including migrants) are engaged in a variety of economic activities in the informal sector but some of these activities have not been systematically studied (Langevang & Gough, 2012; Langevang et al., 2012; White, 2012; Okojie, 2003). One of such economic activities is the mobile shoe-shine business in Ghana which is mostly urban-based and male-dominated. This study, therefore, focuses on migrants engaged in the mobile shoe-shine business in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Although some shoe-shine workers are stationed at OLA Estate, Tantri, Pedu junction and Bakaanu areas, this study focused on the mobile shoe-shine operators who constitute the majority in the Cape Coast Metropolis.

The objectives of the study are to describe the shoe-shine business, examine the main motive for engaging in the business and assess the benefits involved in the business. The findings of the study could add to and update the literature on the migration of young people and their entrepreneurship in the urban informal economy. The paper which is divided into six sections covers the introduction, conceptual perspectives, theoretical framework, study area, data and methods, results and discussions, and conclusions.

Conceptual Perspectives The concept of youth defies any specific definition, but it is mostly conceptualized on the basisof chronology, life stage or transitions. Chronologically, the youth mostly refers to people aged between 15 and 24 years, but in terms of stages in life, they are often classified between childhood and adulthood (Chigunta, 2012; Gough et al., 2013). The transitions approach to defining the youth often includes the transitions to education, the world of work and family formation. However, it is instructive to note that all these three benchmarks could vary from one geographical region, country or culture to the other due to rapid socio-economic changes orchestrated by globalization, formal education and migration (Langevang, 2008; van Blerk, 2008). In this paper,