Enterprise Growth in the Informal Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Empirical Qualitative Investigation

This study explores marketing strategies informal enterprises employ for growth in the Ghanaian context through the lens of the Theory of Critical Success Factors. Reporting on a sample size of 30 at East Legon in Accra (Capital of Ghana), this study adopts a qualitative perspective, considering the informal context in which the study was conducted as a case. Data were gathered through face-to-face in-depth interviews and analysed qualitatively using themes in line with the three-stage iterative methodology developed by Miles et al. (Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage, 1994): data reduction, data display, and drawing and verifying conclusions. The study finds that although traditional marketing is not inherent in the informal entrepreneurial space of Ghana, developing key growth strategies such as diversification, ploughing or plowing back of profit, business expansion, gaining financial support, and hiring the correct number of employees are critical factors that necessitate enterprise growth in the informal economy. The findings also suggest traditional growth strategies such as the Ansoff matrix and others may not be applicable in the informal economy. Therefore, the study calls for specific growth strategies akin to the informal economy to be adopted by informal entrepreneurs.