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Lebanese Traders in Cotonou: A Socio-Cultural Analysis of Economic Mobility and Capital Accumulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

J. Joost Beuving
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Abstract

Passenger cars and other small vehicles have for a long time been the backbone of transport in west Africa. The cars are usually second-hand, and they are sourced on overseas car markets, mostly in western Europe. During the 1990s the port town of Cotonou, Bénin, became one of the most prominent hubs in this car trade: car markets mushroomed, attracting large numbers and a wide variety of traders – including a prominent contingent of Lebanese. This article discusses the role of these Lebanese traders in the car trade through a reconstruction of their careers. It reveals that Lebanese business, which can go through a rapid succession of different economic activities, starts as kin-based enterprise, but gradually incorporates peers and friends. Close analysis of this practice suggests that Lebanese immigrant traders are to a large extent driven by the ideal of enjoying life by adopting an expatriate lifestyle.

Résumé

Les voitures de tourisme et autres petits véhicules sont depuis longtemps la cheville ouvrière du transport en Afrique de l'Ouest. Ce sont généralement des voitures d'occasion achetées sur les marchés automobiles étrangers, principalement en Europe de l'Ouest. Au cours des années 1990, la ville portuaire de Cotonou, au Bénin, est devenue la principale plaque tournante du commerce de voitures: les marchés de voitures se sont rapidement multipliés, attirant en grand nombre des commerçants divers et variés, y compris un important contingent libanais. Cet article s'intéresse au rôle de ces commerçants libanais dans le commerce automobile en reconstituant leurs carrières. Il révèle que le commerce libanais, qui peut passer rapidement d'une activité économique à une autre, démarre sous la forme d'une entreprise familiale qui peu à peuintègre des pairs et des amis. Une analyse approfondie de cette pratique suggère que les commerçants immigrés libanais sont dans une large mesure motivés par un idéal de jouissance de la vie en adoptant un style de vie d'expatrié.

Type
Articles
Information
Africa , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , August 2006 , pp. 324 - 351
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2006

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