Document is current

Article History

Received: 25 April 2025

Accepted: 9 February 2026

First Online: 18 February 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was granted by the University of Cape Town’s Environmental and Geographical Sciences Research Ethics Committee (approval date: 9 June 2023; Protocol Reference Number: EBE00201/2023), authorising the researchers to interview, record, and observe participants in accordance with all ethical standards. Local research permission in Zimbabwe was obtained from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Corporation (SMEDCO), a statutory body under the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises. Authorisation was issued by the Bulawayo Regional Manager on 14 June 2023, permitting the researcher to interview SMEDCO employees and to independently recruit and interview relevant small, medium, and informal enterprise (SME) operators within Bulawayo Province; SMEDCO was not involved in participant recruitment. Local research in Zimbabwe also adhered to internationally recognised best-practice standards, guided by the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and as required by the University of Cape Town’s institutional ethics guidelines. It ensured that participation was voluntary, informed consent was obtained from all participants and individuals were free to withdraw at any time, while maintaining their privacy as all data were anonymised, securely stored on the University of Cape Town OneDrive, and only accessible to the research team.

: The authors confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation in the study. Participation was entirely voluntary, and no incentives or rewards were offered. Written informed consent was secured between 10 June 2023 and 30 September 2023. All individuals mentioned in this article have been fully anonymised, and no identifying information is disclosed. Participants did not agree to the public sharing of their interview transcripts and field notes.