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The Suame Manufacturing Cluster in Ghana
... The core of the cluster houses over 12,000 shops in an area of roughly .5 square kilometres, with a perimeter of 7 kilometres (Azongo, 2007 and Obeng, 2002). The overflow population contains up to 100,000 additional manufacturers and vehicle repairers, who work on similar trades in smaller clusters nearby (Adeya, 2008). Within the core area, 6 out of every 10 buildings are constructed of temporary materials, primarily wooden boards and iron sheets (Obeng, 2002). ...
... Instead of formal training, most artisans learn their trade through apprenticing themselves to experienced workshop-owners, called " master craftsmen " ; Iddrisu et al. (2009) report an average apprenticeship duration of 4.6 years in the auto-mechanics sector, and nearly 3 years in the metalworking sector. A World Bank study in 2001 indicates 74% of Suame artisans learned their skill through apprenticeship (Adeya, 2008), and Iddrisu, Mano, and Sonobe (2009) estimate this number at 90%. Adeya (2008) found that 69% of Suame artisans in their 2001 survey had no formal education beyond primary school, and a later survey recorded that 58% of master craftsmen had similar levels of education (Alexander et al., 2010). ...
... Instead of formal training, most artisans learn their trade through apprenticing themselves to experienced workshop-owners, called " master craftsmen " ; Iddrisu et al. (2009) report an average apprenticeship duration of 4.6 years in the auto-mechanics sector, and nearly 3 years in the metalworking sector. A World Bank study in 2001 indicates 74% of Suame artisans learned their skill through apprenticeship (Adeya, 2008), and Iddrisu, Mano, and Sonobe (2009) estimate this number at 90%. Adeya (2008) found that 69% of Suame artisans in their 2001 survey had no formal education beyond primary school, and a later survey recorded that 58% of master craftsmen had similar levels of education (Alexander et al., 2010). Adeya (2008 found that fewer than 2% of all artisans have completed tertiary education, and manufacturing is likely the most highly educated sector (Iddrisu et al., 2009). ...
With about 100,000 technical artisans, auto-mechanics, and purveyors of related supplies, Suame Magazine in Kumasi, Ghana is one of Africa’s largest informal engineering clusters. The cluster began around 1935 during British colonization, and expanded rapidly under trade protectionist policies in the early 1980's. As unemployed youth continue to seek apprenticeships under master mechanics, it is postulated that the Suame cluster could absorb up to 10% of Ghana's junior high school dropouts annually. Technical artisans trained within the cluster repair and perform alterations on vehicles throughout Ghana and other West African countries. Yet in spite of its achievements, the cluster faces danger of "imminent collapse." As modern vehicles become increasingly computerized and Ghana attempts to enforce stricter safety standards, the artisans are unable to keep up-to-date with technological trends; training within the cluster is based on acquiring skills rather than developing knowledge. Despite artisans' continual innovations in vehicle repair and manufacturing, these incremental improvements are insufficient compared to the innovative leap required for Ghana's technical development. In this paper, we report on our fieldwork on innovation and stagnation in a typical African cluster of small firms. Our research identifies inhibitions to innovation and growth, as well as prospects offered by public and non-governmental institutions. In this paper, we use exploratory and case study research methods to assess the contribution of external influences to innovation and stagnation in Suame Magazine. The study revealed that the most significant innovations among the technical artisans are a result of new knowledge, which is acquired through institutional linkages and the entry of qualified artisans who were trained outside the cluster. Given that the present decline in productivity is a result of external rather than endemic influences, our analysis suggests that a sustained increase in knowledge-based linkages with public and nongovernmental institutions is necessary for the cluster's survival. Improved collaboration would contribute significantly to employment and growth across the vehicle repair and manufacturing sector. Yet without rapid, substantial advancement in the knowledge of Suame's artisans, the cluster will continue to stagnate. Suame Magazine is the largest cluster for vehicle repair and manufacturing in Africa, and maintains substantial international connections; its decline would have adverse ramifications for neighbouring countries. As this is a typical West African cluster, our findings can be extrapolated throughout the region.
... Like Jorge and Kumasi Hive, the cofounders of Dext felt an affinity to Kumasi-not just for the tech community built around the university, but also for other communities in the area, such as the Suame Magazine, in one of the oldest markets in Ghana. Described as a frugal manufacturing cluster (Yeebo 2016;Amedorme and Agbezudor 2013;Adeya 2008), Suame Magazine is home to generations of mechanics who have repaired and reengineered all things mechanical from anywhere in the world, particularly automobiles imported from the Global North. There is local respect for the technical expertise in Suame, but its scale is imagined to be limited due in part to the low formal education these mechanical experts have. ...
This article proposes a feminist geopolitics of technology framework that analyzes the connections between global politics and techno-empires through the lens of feminist scholarship. This framework has three dimensions: (1) grounding in place, (2) attention to everyday surviving and thriving, and (3) community. We draw on two long-term, community-oriented ethnographic research engagements in Cambodia and Ghana to illustrate how this approach might be used. This framework provides a resource for scholars to make sense of the contrasts between dominant narratives and lived experiences, particularly encouraging more sensitive and generative approaches to analyzing the conditions and dimensions of a shifting geopolitics of technology. In writing stories of caring, thriving, and grounded alternatives, we hope to foster and support initiatives that encourage personal agency and living the full human experience amid inequality and structural violence.
... Grassroot artisans worldwide have a long history of innovation and extensive networking amongst local firms (Adeya, 2008 ), while modern makerspaces are relatively new and " airdropped " technologies or technical facilities have no ties to local communities. Nonetheless, policy-makers and aid organizations demonstrate a preference for creating brand new makerspaces, " tech hubs, " and even entire innovation cities (such as Kenya's Konza Techno City) instead of investing in existing innovation communities at the grassroots. ...
Informal workers are a heterogeneous group distinguished by diverse activities and interests, but they have in common that they operate largely outside state regulations. In this article, we analyse the ways in which informal workers in Ghana are organising (themselves) in response to proposed relocations of their workspace. Borrowing from Tsing, we distinguish three layers of friction that can lead to (structural) change, collective action, and an increase in informal workers’ political leverage. Our two case studies in Accra and Kumasi show how striving for inclusive development is a process shaped by diverse agendas and potentially conflicting interests. These relational and political aspects are crucial for understanding the frictions involved, as well as how these may lead to change. Where the tendency is to gloss over these frictions, we argue that they need to be the starting point for effective policies and initiatives for inclusive development.
This study has investigated the levels of heavy metal pollution in the soil at a typical automobile hub where a lot of oil waste, generated through vehicular maintenance and servicing, is spilled indiscriminately into the environment. Twenty-nine (29) soil samples were taken from eight (8) locations up to a depth of 2 m (i.e., the depth to water table) in the area and analysed for the presence of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, Fe, Mn, and Ni. In addition, laboratory permeability and grading tests were conducted on the samples to ascertain their influence on the mobility of the heavy metals. The study results indicated that the soil in the area is well graded with coefficient of permeability in the order of 10− 3 mm/h and mostly composed of silt, sand, and gravel with little amount of clay and less than 10% organic matter content as well as a pH range of 4.04–7.74. The levels of heavy metal contamination in the soil were in the order Pb > Cd > Zn > Mn > Cu > Fe > Cr > Ni. The soil quality up to a depth of 0.6 m was found to be highly polluted with the heavy metals based on pollution load index and degree of contamination assessments. In addition, a combination of Pearson’s correlation and cluster analyses of the heavy metal associations revealed the pollution source to be anthropogenic and must, therefore, be checked due to its potential to contaminate the shallow groundwater in the area and associated health implications.
This paper theorizes that the impacts of land delivery and land holding mechanisms on the evolution and performance of informal light manufacturing clusters have been underexamined and need renewed evaluation for their impact on cluster performance and evolution of agglomeration effects. It examines 25 cases of African informal production clusters; 19 from existing studies, six previously unpublished to develop eight land delivery mechanism types and eight ways informal clusters hold urban land. The purpose is to provide a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms of land access for informal clusters so that future scholarship can investigate the impact of these mechanisms on informal production cluster evolution. The paper concludes with a resulting set of future research questions and implications for methods.
This chapter reports on a recent educational initiative involving academics from Ghanaian universities and members of an informal sector community of woodworking artisans. This pilot project examined how social and technological innovations, including open educational resources (OERs) might be used to create new learning experiences that were capable of addressing the artisans’ context-specific enterprise development needs. The concluding discussion identifies a number of practical lessons from the project. These findings are related to current debates regarding the potential role of education and training interventions in addressing the persistent policy challenge of transitioning enterprises to a more formal basis, and of promoting their growth and resilience.
This paper analysed skills and training needs of metalwork engineering enterprises in Ghana. Using primary data from cross-sectional survey, empirical analysis was carried out. The data was developed into a database on metalwork engineering enterprises in Kumasi of Ghana. 500 metalwork engineering enterprises were analysed for trends and proportions to provide knowledge and understanding. To determine training priorities, skills gap analysis was used. Pareto chart was also used to analyse priority areas for training, tools for training, best time and duration. The study results showed that although the metalwork engineering enterprises possessed diverse skills, they were limited in knowledge-based skills and training, which adversely impact on productivity and competitiveness. It was revealed that about 86% of the respondents acquired their existing skills through apprenticeship training from master craftsmen over an average period of 4.9 years. From the results, the widest gap in skills was in ICT and Computer Aided Design/Manufacturing (CAD/CAM). Basic skills upgrading is needed in welding and fabrication, agricultural and agro processing equipment manufacture, technical drawing and metalwork fabrication. The results suggested that priority training methods and tools should focus on hands-on and use of basic engineering tools. Majority of metalwork engineering enterprises prefer training duration of 1-3 months and late afternoon (4-7 pm) since the mornings are peak periods for business and income generation. The need for skills upgrading, awareness creation in design processes, well-timed training etc are recommended.
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