Formidable socioeconomic adversities propel many young Africans into the informal sector, hustling – legally or otherwise – to support themselves, their loved ones, and their communities, often risking their lives in the process. Building on interviews conducted as part of The Imprint of Education (TIE) project, Sabelo Mpisi examines the lives of young disenfranchised motorcycle taxi drivers in Malawi, who go to great and dangerous lengths to make a living.
In Africa, many young people earn their livelihoods in the informal sector, for example, by operating motorcycle taxis to offer crucial transport services where formal public systems are lacking.
In addition to operating motorcycle taxis, many young Malawians also opt for street vending, transforming material waste into entrepreneurial ventures, and agriculture as livelihood opportunities and potential career paths.
Operated mainly by young men, motorcycle taxis are known by varied local terms across African regions. In East Africa, they are known as boda bodas, moto-taxis, or motos, and, in West Africa, as okadas. In Southern Africa, particularly in Malawi, they are locally known as kabazas. Despite regional differences in terminology, these motorcycle taxis are uniformly associated with significant risks for both drivers and passengers, often leading to injuries or fatalities.
Youth unemployment in Malawi
A 2021 study identified various reasons for youth unemployment in Malawi, including an overreliance on agriculture, population growth, and slow capital accumulation. The study also noted challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises in accessing capital, leading to stagnation and closure. Moreover, the education sector’s shortcomings exacerbate the problem.
Another study showed how many young people struggle to find stable employment after completing secondary school or graduating from university, illustrating the volatility of the labour market, compounded by under- and over-education, and lack of work experience. Additionally, Malawi suffers from a weak industrial base, exacerbated by structural adjustment programmes imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank since independence.
HSRC fieldwork in Southern, Eastern, and Western Africa
In late 2022 and early 2023, HSRC researchers conducted ethnographic interviews in South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda with young people working in the informal sector, a phenomenon researchers have termed “the youth hustle”. This fieldwork was part of The Imprint of Education (TIE) project, which investigates graduate transitions to the world of work. The project also investigates the broader structural barriers to finding work on the continent. The findings have culminated in a ten-part podcast series, Hustling the African Dream, showing how young Africans survive.
Young Malawians living on the edge
The interviews in Malawi revealed that young people regularly use informal survivalism. This includes risking their lives driving kabazas that the government and news publications term ‘moving death traps’ or ‘moving coffins’. Road accidents in Malawi involving these taxis soared 1,700% between 2014 and 2022, illuminating the severe risks. Zamos, a young Malawian who owns motorcycle taxis, highlighted the challenges and opportunities related to this transport mode, focusing on risks and mitigation strategies:
Motorcycle taxis are dangerous compared to other means of transportation. But what I do in my business, is I have helmets for my drivers and another one for my passengers to put on when they are on my bikes. It is tough; it is precarious to do the bikes, but I provide training to my drivers and tell them to exercise caution. Living off one job in this country is not easy. Just getting an income means I could get bikes and employ others. I got into that and saw it as a way to make more money and obviously help the community and help other school-leavers who were not able to get a job like me.
Zamos also highlighted the precarious socioeconomic realities that drive many to seek alternative sources of income and his desire to create employment opportunities for school drop-outs, whose employability prospects are bleak. While Zamos has managed to avoid tragic accidents within his fleet, thanks to his precautions, other owners have not been as fortunate, as exemplified by Abigail’s poignant account:
Since my boy got killed in an accident, the motorcycle is no longer operating. I am no longer operating.
Abigail’s tragic experience of losing one of her drivers in an accident forced her to halt her motorcycle taxi business, severing her source of income and livelihood. Others shared harrowing accounts of how driving the ‘death traps’ nearly cost them their lives. Consider the experience of Chisomo, another taxi owner:
I looked at the need, which was transport as most people rely on taxis … there are roads that the regular cars can’t reach, which the motorcycle can. It was to my advantage that I can take them to their destination. [Last week] someone was trying to overtake me and they didn’t give me the much-needed signal in time … to avoid the accident, I made use of the emergency brake. Unfortunately, I got involved in an accident, but I only damaged my bike.
Despite the high demand in hard-to-reach areas, Chisomo pointed out the perilous nature of crowded roads and stressed the importance of constant vigilance. The incident he described, involving another driver attempting to overtake without proper signalling, points to the lack of road discipline and consideration from other drivers. Accidents compelled many Malawians to consider other livelihood strategies, as Chimwewe chronicled:
I’ve been in accidents many times. Because of the way I carry passengers. I carry three to four passengers. [In] the other accident, I lost a lot. It has affected my life in many ways. I hit the pavement and my left leg is damaged. I am using crutches … Now, I am just selling charcoal.
Despite the risk, passengers in Malawi continue to use motorcycle taxis because they are convenient. As Moses shared:
Where I stay, taxis do not reach. Only motorcycles reach there. An accident occurred when I was coming from town and I boarded a motorcycle, but the driver failed to make a certain corner. So we had an accident. It has impacted my life so much in a sense that I now fear the motorcycle.
The road ahead
The HSRC’s research highlights the importance of the informal sector in providing livelihoods for many young Africans, using their resilience and innovation in the face of limited formal employment opportunities. However, it illuminates the significant risks involved in many of these endeavours, raising awareness about the need for better safety measures and regulatory frameworks for subsectors such as motorcycle taxis.
“It also sheds light on the gendered nature of the informal economy, revealing how opportunities and experiences differ for young men and women,” says Dr Andrea Juan, a co-principal investigator in the HSRC’s TIE project. “This information is vital for creating gender-sensitive policies and interventions,” she adds.
The research underscores the need to create more and better-quality job opportunities to reduce youth dependence on risky informal employment. The findings and insights can inform the development of programmes focused on entrepreneurship, skills development, and industrial growth. The research also indicates the value of collaboration between South African and Malawian researchers, policymakers, and other institutions to co-develop evidence-based and contextually relevant solutions to the challenges faced by youth in Africa.
Communicating the research findings using a podcast series was part of the HSRC’s commitment to using alternative and accessible means of producing and sharing knowledge to enhance research engagement.
“The podcast series also decentres and changes perceptions of work as a formal nine-to-five endeavour in Africa for youth and other demographic groups,” says Dr Adam Cooper, another investigator on the TIE project, and a project lead in the podcast series. “It could be used to challenge policymakers to stop fixating on job creation and to support the informal sector through spatial planning, protection for Boda boda drivers and funding for youth informal start-ups,” he adds.
Research contact: Sabelo Mpisi, a researcher in the HSRC Equitable Education and Economies division
Disclaimer: This article was produced in the context of The Imprint of Education study conducted by the HSRC in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Foundation, its staff, or its board of directors.
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