African Traders and Trade Networks

* Prof. Barbara Harriss-White, Professor of Development Studies, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University.
* Drs. Paul Quarles van Ufford, AGIDS, University of Amsterdam.
* Dr. Fred Zaal, Amsterdam Research Institute for Global Issues and Development Studies (AGIDS), University of Amsterdam.

The mode of organisation of African traders is receiving increasing attention in the study of African trade. The latter is commonly defined as organised by African traders and oriented towards the African market and the provision of the large majority of the population with food items and consumer goods. The trade networks are among the most outstanding features of the organisation of African trade. Through the establishment and maintenance of networks, traders are able to exploit and deal with the specificity of the African trade environment. The present seminar will examine these networks and their role in the African trade. It will highlight in particular the structure of the livestock trade and the mode of organisation of livestock traders.