000 01606cam a2200157 4500500
005 20251017185915.0
041 _afre
042 _adc
100 1 0 _aTowo Meffeu, Valérie
_eauthor
245 0 0 _aSocial Entrepreneurship and Innovation Dynamics within Clusters in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study in Cameroon
260 _c2025.
500 _a18
520 _aThis paper examines the dynamics of informal social entrepreneurship and social innovation within informal clusters in Sub-Saharan Africa, drawing on a case study from Cameroon. Three clusters were investigated through a qualitative inquiry combining semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The findings highlight the existence of local practices of cooperation and solidarity that fulfill essential economic functions: reducing transaction costs, transmitting skills, and coordinating markets. These mechanisms, though informal, operate as functional local institutions that contribute to the structuring of clusters and to the economic resilience of territories. The analysis is grounded in the perspectives of institutional economics and local development, and it proposes a reinterpretation of clusters as spaces of social innovation largely overlooked by public policies. The paper advocates for greater recognition of these dynamics and for stronger linkages between informal practices and formal development support schemes.
786 0 _nInnovations | special issue | HS1 | 2025-10-10 | p. 122-122 | 1267-4982
856 4 1 _uhttps://shs.cairn.info/revue-innovations-2025-HS1-page-122?lang=en&redirect-ssocas=7080
999 _c1550997
_d1550997