Abstract
Despite preponderance of microenterprises in Africa’s emerging economies, there is a dearth of knowledge about what motivates a microentrepreneur to choose starting operations in the informal sector. This study therefore examined informal microentrepreneurship in Africa and the degree to which social capital dynamics influence starting and sustaining a microenterprise. Self-affirmation theory served as theoretical bedrock and based on several factors; Nigeria was selected as population of study. Semi-structured interviews were employed to retrieve information from fifty-two owners of microenterprises. Findings revealed that informal microentrepreneurship in Africa is necessity-driven due to lack of alternatives and anchored on survival and subsistence of owners. Additionally, it was found that social capital dynamics such as personal ties, family embeddedness and relationship-building through trust contribute to starting and sustaining microenterprises in the informal economy. Policy implications for governments in Africa’s emerging economies include finding avenues of reducing costs associated with doing business while individuals in environments with limited opportunities need to consciously seek active personal ties and social embeddedness that could help them in starting or sustaining an enterprise.