- Title of Chapter: The “China Challenge”: The global dimensions of activism and the informal economy in Dakar, Senegal
- Book Title: Africa's Informal Workers. Collective Agency, Alliances and Transnational Organizing in Urban Africa
- Place of Publication: London
- Publisher: Zed Books
- Book Authors: Ilda Lindell .ed
Abstract:
This article examines the organizing strategies of traders’ associations in the informal economy of Dakar in the context of market liberalization and the emergence of Chinese actors in to the market. Organising in the informal economy of Dakar is examined in a historical perspective, as well as in the current context. UNACOIS is a traders’ association that has arranged strikes against value added tax on informal sales and challenged government monopoly on rice sales. Although it is registered as a business association, it has had a reputation of a militant labour union. More recently it has become a more moderate association focusing on providing financial services and insurances to its members. The dual identity of trade union and business association is evident in how UNACOIS has built networks with StreetNet and ILO on the one hand and with The Centre for International Private Enterprises on the other.