The Economy of Resourcefulness in Kinshasa

Informality, Small-Scale Trade, and Social Networks

By: Sylvie Ayimpam

Write A Review

Hardcover | 16 June 2026 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.75

Hardcover

RRP $305.00

$263.75

14%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $65.94 with

Ships in 3 to 5 business days

How, in a context of prolonged economic and political crisis, do city dwellers reinvent the means of their survival in Kinshasa? This book answers that question. Through fine-grained ethnography, it shows how micro-social arrangements enable small-scale traders to provision the city and ordinary citizens to keep living, immersing the reader in the many forms of "resourcefulness" that organize small-scale trade across Kinshasa's markets.

The book moves beyond the formal/informal binary to theorize an "economy of resourcefulness," where economic, social, political, and cultural dimensions are tightly entangled. It traces how cooperation and cunning, solidarity and extortion, coexist in everyday pursuits of income under precarious conditions. Following retail circuits while attending to shifting state presences, digital payments, congestion, and risk, it reconstructs the practical norms and negotiated rules through which actors coordinate, conflict, and protect themselves—offering a bottom-up view of governance in practice and of ongoing social change.

This volume will interest scholars and students of African studies, anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, urban studies, and development studies, as well as practitioners concerned with popular economies, urban governance, and everyday livelihoods in the Global South.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.