Intimidazioni e violenze ai danni degli imprenditori immigrati. In Sud Africa

L'IRIN ci porta nelle township del Sud Africa dove i negozianti immigrati (ad esempio i tanti rifugiati provenienti dalle zone di guerra, come la Somalia) sono oggetto da anni di intimidazioni e di attacchi da parte di gruppi organizzati di commercianti autoctoni (South Africa. Foreign Traders face threaths, intimidations, Market forces part of xenophobic violence). 

Anche se la distanza fra il Sud Africa e l'Italia è enorme, il meccanismo è simile e facilmente comprensibile: gli immigrati trovano facilmente sbocco nei piccoli business familiari dove - grazie al sostegno dei membri del gruppo, ai legami internazionali ed alla cultura imprenditoriale - riescono abbastanza facilmente a proliferare pestando però i piedi ai commercianti autoctoni, che reagiscono in maniera a volte più cavillosa a volte più esplicita e aggressiva per difendere le loro misere rendite di posizione.In particolare, la "colpa" dei somali è quella di avere introdotto nelle township sudafricane il "supermercato", inteso come vero e proprio negozio di medie dimensioni in cui è possibile trovare una scelta più ampia di prodotti a prezzi concorrenziali, che ha mandato in crisi il sistema basato sulle mini-rivendite informali. 

Già due anni fa il tutto era stato descritto da un interessante rapporto curato dalle autorità locali che riassume le ragioni del successo degli imprenditori immigrati sui commercianti locali.

The report speculated that attacks on Somali-owned businesses were "ethnically motivated"; but "there are issues of pricing, consumer choice and the growth of supermarket-like spaza shops that has an impact on retail business in the area," it noted. "Many spaza shops owned by Somali immigrants have evolved into mini-superettes [convenience stores], which tend to be preferred choice of consumers as they offer a wider range of products compared to an over-the-counter or through-the-window spaza shop." Local spaza shop owners "were motivated by survival and would rather work for a company, should the option become available. Foreign spaza shop owners, on the other hand, were more innovative and envisaged growth in their businesses," the report commented. "Foreign spaza shop owners had a wider range of products and services at lower prices. Foreign spaza shop owners conducted bulk buying through social networking and also accessed finance through these networks. This resulted in foreign spaza shop owners obtaining substantial discounts. As a result of this, local spaza shop owners were struggling to compete."

The report said there were "cultural differences" that made foreign spaza owners more "collectivistic in nature", as opposed to the "individualistic" approach of locally owned shops. "The distinct differences between the two groups of business owners have resulted in different buying methods, where foreign spaza shop owners do collective buying and thereby qualify for bulk discounts, which impacts directly on pricing strategies." The report highlighted local spaza shop owners' absence of book-keeping - as practiced by foreigners - which, apart from detailing the financial health of the business, was crucial to accessing finance.