An emerging African business quarter amid urban decline

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and assess the sustainability of an emergent West African business quarter in Manchester, UK. Comparisons are drawn with developments among other ethnic groups. The research is placed in the context of international literature on ethnic entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach – The research is primarily qualitative, using semi‐structured interviews and conversational life histories with a sample of West African retail businesses and a comparative group of other local businesses. Some use is made of quantitative information from census and other public data sources. Findings – New West African enterprises appear, over the last few years, to have stabilised the declining retail district of Moston Lane in north Manchester. These new businesses are however confined to few sectors: food stores, hair and beauty salons, cafes, Internet cafes and clothing shops. These developments may parallel the success of longer established retail quarters in Manchester and elsewhere. However, most of the businesses may not survive long, having provided a temporary living, and some entrepreneurial experience, for their owners. Research limitations/implications – Limited sample size and short time frame make results exploratory rather than definitive. The research provides however a base for future investigations. Practical implications – The businesses studied provide economic opportunities for some immigrants with limited labour market opportunities. Social implications – Immigrants are helped to maintain the integrity of their culture through the purchase of appropriate goods and services. Originality/value – This paper provides the first consideration of a specifically African retail quarter in Britain, adding an additional ethnicity to the roster of identifiable geographic business locations.