Severity of Poverty amongst Entrepreneurs in Slum Settlement: A Case of Makoko Community, Lagos State, Nigeria
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Date
2021-03
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Crawford Journal of Business & Social Sciences
Abstract
The informal economic activities in the slum of urban cities and their impact on poverty are gaining attention. While attempts have been made to measure poverty in slums, and rural communities, empirical evidence on poverty severity within the entrepreneurial class of the slum is scanty. We explore the severity of poverty amongst entrepreneurs and self-employed in the Makoko slum community in Lagos State, Nigeria. Leveraging on primary data obtained from a survey questionnaire designed to elicit information from 300 entrepreneurs living in these communities, descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. Specifically, the Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke (FGT) or Severity/Squared Poverty Gap Index was employed in measuring the severity of poverty amongst the groups of entrepreneurs. The incidence of 0.092% shows that the poverty incidence is mild amongst entrepreneurs in this community. This is contrary to the result when taken for the entire population, as obtained by previous studies. This indicates that welfare programs and empowerment interventions should be multifaceted, even when targeting citizens at the bottom of the pyramid. This paper investigates unique and overlooked strata of the bottom of the pyramid, i.e., the entrepreneurs and the self-employed. This is relevant in getting a holistic solution to the challenge of poverty reduction and alleviation.
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Citation
Popogbe, O.O, Adeosun, O.T. (2021). Severity of Poverty amongst Entrepreneurs in Slum Settlement: A Case of Makoko Community, Lagos State, Nigeria. Crawford Journal of Business & Social Sciences. 11(1); 81-91.