The entrepreneurial habitus of Zimbabweans in South Africa

Abstract

This article argues that individuals’ internalised frameworks, shaped by Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, play a crucial role in their ability to conceive entrepreneurial possibilities and to recognise opportunities. To explore this argument, interviews were conducted with Zimbabwean entrepreneurs residing in of Cape Town, South Africa. The participants exhibited diverse habituated experiences including culinary preferences, work backgrounds and family histories. The article contends that these habitual dispositions, whether conscious or unconscious, significantly influenced their decision to engage in entrepreneurship within the South African context.