Yi market yama phara: the importance of social media for small business development

Abstract

The participatory potential of social media has been taken up in African media studies (see Bosch, 2021). Not much, however, has been written about its potential and use in small business development (especially in townships). The need for small business development to stimulate growth of the economy is something of a truism (Lose and Eze, 2024). A major drawback, however, is that despite inherent economic potential, a majority of micro enterprises are characterized by low‐incomes and poverty. This study explores social media’s potential to boost small businesses. Although largely universal, in the context of postcolonial settings designed to depress economic activity, new media technologies present an opportunity for those limited by social stricture to reverse the flow of movement away from the periphery. Using township economy research as an anchor, the chapter argues that social media offers a greater opportunity to circumvent challenges and access markets beyond their immediate surrounds.