An exploration of government policies for supporting informal entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe

This study was an assessment of the government policies for supporting informal entrepreneurship within Chitungwiza Municipality, Zimbabwe, using the stakeholder theory. There is a growing body of research on informal entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe. However, limited research exists on the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation (ZIMASSET), a recent socio-economic policy that governs informal entrepreneurship. The study sample consisted of 36 participants (heads of households, community development practitioners, social workers, and municipal officials) who were purposively selected. A qualitative approach was employed with focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews as data collection instruments. Although ZIMASSET is a good policy on paper, the study findings revealed that weak institutions, corruption, bad governance, lack of accountability and transparency adversely affected its success. This leads to various challenges facing community members in their informal entrepreneurial activities. The study recommends that the Government of Zimbabwe should involve all stakeholders in formulating policies so that they can have ownership of the policies. This is crucial for the success of policy formulation.