Migrants and Small Enterprises In Post-Apartheid Pretoria/Tshwane: A Focus On The Hair Salon Business In Sunnyside

Abstract

Since South Africa's democratization in 1994, major spatial, social and economic changes have occurred in Sunnyside - a high-density inner city area of Pretoria. This period has also seen a dramatic increase in the flow of foreign, predominantly African migrants into the area. Sunnyside is becoming a vibrant, dynamic business area for small black owned
businesses. This is due largely to positive policy measures (by the Pretoria Municipal Council)
such as decentralization, decongestion, desegregation and the creation of City Improvement
Districts (CID). Against this background, the paper investigates aspects of emergent migrant
small enterprises operating in post-apartheid Pretoria. The results are presented from a
survey of hair salon operators in Sunnyside and a series of in-depth interviews undertaken
with key institutional actors dealing with Sunnyside as a CID.

International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 3 (1) 2007 pp. 59-80