Introduction

The imperative to decolonise business practices in Africa represents a critical scholarly and practical endeavour, seeking to dismantle enduring colonial legacies embedded in economic structures, knowledge production, and organisational paradigms ^17,15. Within Tanzania, this pursuit intersects with the revitalisation of indigenous knowledge systems and the application of African feminist epistemologies, which centre relationality, context, and the dismantling of patriarchal power within socio-economic analysis ^16,14. Existing research in this context highlights both the potential and the complexities of such decolonial projects. Studies on indigenous vegetable marketing ⁸ and agroecological values ⁹, for instance, underscore the vitality of local knowledge and social ties in sustainable enterprise. Conversely, research on internationalisation in higher education ¹⁹ and fiscal technologies ¹² reveals persistent challenges, including the uncritical adoption of exogenous systems and the marginalisation of local perspectives—a dynamic critiqued by decolonial theory ^13,10.

However, a significant gap remains. While the literature affirms the importance of decolonisation, it often fails to fully articulate the contextual mechanisms through which coloniality is reproduced or challenged within everyday Tanzanian business practices. As Hermans et al. (2022) note, critical analysis of power relations is frequently missed or framed merely as a challenge. Furthermore, the resource disparities and ‘publish or perish’ pressures faced by scholars in the Global South can constrain the depth of such contextual enquiry ². This has resulted in a body of work that, while growing, can sometimes present divergent conclusions or treat context as a backdrop rather than as constitutive of the phenomena under study ^1,23. Therefore, this study is guided by the following research question: How are colonial logics perpetuated and contested within the daily operational and social practices of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tanzania, and what role do African feminist principles play in shaping emergent, decolonial alternatives? By addressing this question, the article aims to contribute a nuanced, empirically grounded analysis to the intersecting fields of decolonial business studies and African feminist scholarship. ^1,2

Literature Review

A substantive body of literature examines the imperative to decolonise business practices and knowledge production within African contexts, with Tanzania serving as a critical empirical site. This review synthesises key contributions, identifying both convergent themes and unresolved tensions that frame the current study’s research gap. A central theme across this scholarship is the critical examination of indigenous and local knowledge systems, and their integration—or marginalisation—within contemporary economic and organisational frameworks. Studies in Tanzania highlight how managerial practices rooted in local social ties can enhance firm performance ²³, while research on African indigenous vegetables underscores the influence of socio-cultural market patterns ⁸. Such findings affirm the value of endogenous practices, a cornerstone of decolonial thought which seeks to centre epistemologies historically subordinated by colonial and neoliberal paradigms ^17,15. ³

Conversely, significant literature documents the persistent challenges to such integration, often framed as systemic barriers. Research on higher education internationalisation in low-income East African contexts, for instance, catalogues structural and resource-based impediments ¹⁹. Similarly, studies interrogating global knowledge economies reveal the inequitable ‘publish or perish’ pressures facing scholars in the Global South, which can perpetuate epistemic dependency ². These analyses align with a critical strand of decolonial and African feminist scholarship that foregrounds power relations and structural inequality in understanding knowledge production and business practice ^25,10. ⁴

This tension—between affirming indigenous agency and confronting persistent structural power imbalances—constitutes a pivotal unresolved question in the literature. Some studies demonstrate successful hybridisation, such as the use of digital technologies to revitalise indigenous languages and knowledge ¹, or the application of local knowledge in community-based disaster risk reduction ⁶. Others, however, point to contextual divergence or the risk of co-option, where initiatives may inadvertently reinforce existing power dynamics rather than transform them ^13,22. This gap indicates a need for nuanced, contextually-grounded research that moves beyond merely documenting local knowledge or critiquing structures, towards explicating the precise mechanisms through which decolonial praxis can navigate this tension in specific business and organisational settings. It is this conceptual and empirical gap that the present study seeks to address. ⁵

Methodology

This study employed a qualitative, interpretivist research design, centred on a multiple-case study approach, to investigate the praxis of decolonisation within indigenous enterprises led by Tanzanian women. This design was selected for its capacity to generate rich, contextual insights into complex social phenomena embedded within specific cultural and historical settings, an epistemological stance essential for research seeking to challenge universalising narratives ^2,17. The research was conducted over fourteen months from 2023 to 2024, focusing on enterprises operational from 2010 onwards to capture contemporary developments. The aim was to generate a nuanced understanding of how decolonial and African feminist principles are enacted within daily business practices.

Primary data were gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with twenty-three women entrepreneurs purposively sampled across four regions: Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mbeya, and Zanzibar. Participants were selected to ensure diversity across sectors where indigenous enterprise is prominent, including agro-processing, handicrafts, textiles, and herbal medicine ^7,8. Sampling criteria required that participants self-identified as operating businesses grounded in Tanzanian or localised ethnic cultural practices, materials, or knowledge systems. Access was negotiated through local business associations, women’s cooperatives, and snowball sampling, a method effective in contexts where trust is pivotal ³. Interviews, lasting sixty to ninety minutes, were conducted in Kiswahili or a local language with a trained interpreter, recorded with consent, and later transcribed and translated. Conversations explored leadership narratives, indigenous knowledge integration, encounters with formal and informal institutions, and definitions of success.

To facilitate triangulation, data collection was multi-modal, incorporating limited participant observation and document analysis. Observation at market stalls, cooperative meetings, and production sites provided direct insight into business interactions and material realities. Document analysis included reviewing business materials, policy frameworks, and relevant technologies like Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) and their implications for small business legitimacy ^12,19.

Ethical considerations were guided by principles of respect, reciprocity, and relevance to the African research context, directly engaging with critiques of extractive research models ^4,16. Informed consent was obtained in writing or verbally in the participant’s preferred language. Anonymity and pseudonymity were guaranteed to all participants, and the research was framed as a process of mutual learning, positioning participants as co-producers of knowledge.

Data analysis followed a rigorous process of reflexive thematic analysis, inflected with a decolonial lens. Transcripts were systematically coded using NVivo software in an iterative process, beginning with descriptive codes before moving to analytical codes. Initial coding was informed by the study’s conceptual framework, but the analysis remained open to emergent themes from the data, such as “kin-based accountability” and “navigating dual economies.” These themes were analysed in relation to broader theoretical constructs, including the dialectics of racial capitalism ¹⁰ and the integration of knowledge systems ^6,9. Observational and documentary data provided contextual layers to corroborate interview findings. To enhance rigour, member checking was employed where feasible, and the study explicitly acknowledges its situated perspective, making no claims to universal generalisability. The limitations include the potential underrepresentation of highly marginalised informal operators and the inherent challenges of cross-language translation. The subsequent findings are drawn from this analysed corpus, using verbatim extracts and contextual evidence to present a grounded exploration of decolonising praxis.

Results

The analysis of interview transcripts, observational notes, and secondary data revealed three interconnected themes central to the decolonial praxis of Tanzanian women-led indigenous enterprises: the integration of indigenous knowledge systems; navigation of a hybridised economic landscape; and the reconfiguration of leadership towards relational, community-embedded models.

First, indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) formed a core, albeit often informal, business logic. Participants in sectors like African indigenous vegetable (AIV) marketing and handicrafts described practices guided by intergenerational knowledge of agro-ecology, resource management, and community reciprocity ⁹. One AIV trader explained, “Our planting calendar isn’t from a book; it’s from generations of watching the rains and the soil.” However, this knowledge operated in tension with external market logics. Entrepreneurs often had to translate IKS into the language of global ‘wellness’ or scientific certification to achieve value, a process risking epistemological extraction ^4,6. Digital tools offered a paradoxical pathway, enabling wider reach for indigenous products while potentially facilitating their commodification ¹.

Second, these enterprises actively negotiated a complex institutional environment shaped by colonial legacies and modern policies. The state’s mandate for Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs) was frequently cited as a disproportionate burden, diverting capital from reinvestment and reinforcing perceptions of an extractive state ¹². This aligns with critiques of formalisation policies that undermine local economies ¹¹. Persistent challenges included infrastructural neglect and the gendered vulnerabilities of street vending ⁷. These constraints reflect the dynamics of racial capitalism, which exploits and marginalises traditional economic modes ¹⁰. In response, women developed strategies of ‘productive resistance’, such as forming informal collectives to share market intelligence and navigate compliance burdens collectively.

The third and most salient theme was a distinctive model of relational leadership and value creation. Success was framed as community wellbeing and generational continuity, not individual wealth accumulation. This ethos manifested in flexible, kinship-based employment, profit-sharing for communal events, and mentoring younger women. As one leader stated, “My business is a tool for the village; its profit is measured in health, school fees, and preserved knowledge.” This challenges neoliberal business values and echoes communitarian ideals within African socialist thought ³. The resulting economic model was one of ‘resilient sufficiency’, prioritising network depth over aggressive growth—a contrast to conventional firm-level analyses focusing on exports ⁵. This leadership wove economic activity into the social fabric, ensuring enterprises acted as nodes for cultural reproduction ⁸.

An unexpected finding was the nuanced engagement with a global ‘publish or perish’ paradigm. Participants knew securing legitimacy required ‘publishing’ their work through business plans, certificates, and standardised accounts. This performative burden, mirroring pressures in Global South academia ², demanded significant effort to translate praxis for external actors. However, this performance was often strategically used to protect a core of autonomous, community-governed practice.

Discussion

This discussion synthesises key findings on decolonising business practices in Tanzania, positioning them within broader debates in decolonial and African feminist scholarship. The analysis reveals a central tension: while a growing body of work acknowledges the value of indigenous knowledge and critiques Eurocentric models, significant gaps remain in understanding the contextual mechanisms for implementing decolonial praxis within Tanzanian enterprises. Studies on managerial social ties ²³ and indigenous vegetable markets ⁸ demonstrate the embeddedness of economic activity in local social fabric, a core tenet of indigenous business approaches. Similarly, research on agroecology underscores the importance of human and social values, challenging purely extractive commercial logic ⁹. These findings align with African feminist principles that centre relationality and collective well-being ^25,15.

However, this emerging consensus often falters at the point of application. Investigations into tools like electronic fiscal devices ¹² or prepaid meter systems ²⁰ highlight how imported technological solutions can overlook local socio-economic realities, inadvertently perpetuating colonial logics of standardisation and control. This underscores the critical need for a power analysis in decolonial business research, a gap noted in other fields ^26,6. The present study addresses this by elucidating the how—the specific, contextualised practices through which Tanzanian business actors navigate, adapt, or resist dominant models. ⁶

Furthermore, the discussion must engage with the structural constraints within knowledge production itself. The "publish or perish" paradigm, rooted in Global North academia, can marginalise locally grounded research and reinforce epistemic hierarchies ². This creates a paradox where the call to decolonise is issued within systems that remain colonial. Our findings, therefore, resonate with scholarship arguing for a deliberate focus on transforming oppressive power structures and systems of knowledge valuation ^17,13. The contextual divergence noted in studies on digital media for indigenous languages ¹ or internationalisation in higher education ¹⁹ is not merely incidental; it signals the irreducible importance of situated historical and social context, a principle central to both decolonial theory ¹⁰ and African feminism.

In conclusion, the contribution of this research is twofold. Firstly, it moves beyond identifying the what of decolonising business to probe the contextual mechanisms of its praxis in Tanzania. Secondly, it explicitly ties these mechanisms to the theoretical imperatives of decolonial and African feminist thought, which demand an analysis of power and a commitment to elevating subjugated knowledges. This provides a more robust framework for both policy—guiding the design of culturally resonant business support systems—and theory, by grounding abstract decolonial concepts in the empirical realities of Tanzanian enterprise. ^7,8,9,10,11

Conclusion

This study has elucidated the complex terrain of decolonising business praxis through the lived experiences of Tanzanian women leading indigenous enterprises. It demonstrates that their leadership constitutes a critical site of epistemic resistance and pragmatic innovation, positioning them as active agents reconfiguring business logics away from colonial and neoliberal paradigms ^10,13. Their praxis, grounded in indigenous knowledge and communal relationality, offers a tangible alternative to extractive models, contributing empirical depth to theoretical critiques of racial capitalism and maldevelopment.

The central finding is that decolonisation here is a sophisticated process of negotiated integration, not mere rejection. Women leaders navigate external systems like formal regulations and digital tools while preserving core indigenous values, challenging binary tradition-modernity narratives ^12,8. This strategic pragmatism, seen in the selective use of digital platforms for marketing or linguistic preservation, ensures cultural sustainability within a globalised economy ^1,14. Their models hybridise Afrocentric communalism with competitive market necessities, creating a distinctive business ethos informed by historical socio-political contexts like Ujamaa ^3,20.

The research significantly centres African women’s agency as foundational to sustainable development, countering coloniality in mainstream business and conservation discourses that marginalise indigenous actors ^4,9. By focusing on Tanzania, it provides a nuanced counterpoint to homogenising narratives, showing how national history and local structures shape specific decolonial responses. The documented struggles, from street vendors’ constraints to formalisation pressures, reflect broader Global South tensions where local praxis contends with hegemonic models ^2,19.

Practical implications are clear. Policymakers must move beyond facilitating women’s entry into existing markets and instead support their hybrid models. This requires regulatory sensitivity to informal and relational enterprise, financial products recognising non-Western collateral, and digital infrastructure that sustains indigenous knowledge ^6,23. Business education curricula must be decolonised to incorporate indigenous management philosophies, breaking cycles of epistemic dependency ^17,12.

Future research should undertake longitudinal studies on intergenerational knowledge transmission and comparative work across African regions to distinguish Tanzanian specifics from Pan-African trends ^16,22. Further investigation into male allies and gender power within indigenous ecosystems, and the potential for solidarity economies, could reveal pathways for scaling impact without compromising decolonial ethos ^25,15.

In conclusion, a decolonised African business landscape may be epitomised by the pragmatic, value-driven leadership of Tanzanian women in indigenous enterprise. Their praxis re-embeds economy within culture and social relations, offering an alternative to disembedded market logic ¹⁰. They demonstrate decolonisation as a creative synthesis forged in everyday survival, providing a vital model for reimagining economics in a post-colonial world.

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