EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers:

e experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in

Cape Town, South Africa.

Remesas de alimentos transfronterizas y transferencias móviles:

Las experiencias de los emigrantes zimbabuenses en

Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica.

Sean Sithole

, Daniel Tevera

and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

Recibido: 23/09/2022 - Aceptado: 17/11/2022

Publicado: 27/12/2022

Abstract

Mobile transfers have become a dening feature of cross-border remittance transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However,

recent studies on mobile transfers have mainly focused on cash remittances and need to pay more attention to mobile food

transfers. is paper addresses this research gap on mobile food transfers by examining cross-border food remittances and mo-

bile transfers by Zimbabwean migrants residing in Cape Town, South Africa, to their families and friends back home. In this

paper, we seek to understand the factors inuencing the uptake of digital food remittances by Zimbabwean migrants who have

lived in South Africa for at least three years. e paper is based on a mixed research study carried out in Cape Town during the

nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. e mixed-methods study involved a questionnaire survey of 100 Zimbabwean

nationals that was complemented by in-depth interviews with 10 participants selected from the interviewed group. e study

ndings reveal that the national COVID-19 pandemic lockdown disrupted informal food-remitting channels and, at the same

time, helped to solidify the digital and mobile food transfers across national borders that have emerged in SSA in recent years.

Keywords: Food remittances, mobile transfers, digital remittances, food security, COVID-19, Zimbabwean migrants

Resumen

Las transferencias móviles se han convertido en un rasgo denitorio de la transmisión transfronteriza de remesas en el África sub-

sahariana (ASS). Sin embargo, los estudios recientes sobre las transferencias móviles se han centrado principalmente en las remesas

en efectivo y es necesario prestar más atención a las transferencias móviles de alimentos. Este artículo aborda esta laguna en la in-

vestigación sobre las transferencias móviles de alimentos examinando las remesas transfronterizas de alimentos y las transferencias

móviles de los emigrantes zimbabuenses que residen en Ciudad del Cabo (Sudáfrica) a sus familias y amigos en su país. En este

trabajo, tratamos de entender los factores que inuyen en la aceptación de las remesas digitales de alimentos por parte de los em-

igrantes zimbabuenses que han vivido en Sudáfrica durante al menos tres años. El artículo se basa en un estudio de investigación

mixto realizado en Ciudad del Cabo durante el cierre nacional de COVID-19 en 2020. El estudio de métodos mixtos incluyó una

encuesta por cuestionario a 100 ciudadanos de Zimbabue que se complementó con entrevistas en profundidad a 10 participantes

seleccionados del grupo entrevistado. Las conclusiones del estudio revelan que el bloqueo nacional por la pandemia COVID-19

interrumpió los canales informales de transmisión de alimentos y, al mismo tiempo, contribuyó a consolidar las transferencias

digitales y móviles de alimentos a través de las fronteras nacionales que han surgido en el ASS en los últimos años.

Palabras Clave: Remesas alimentarias, transferencias mobiles, remesas digitales, seguridad alimentaria, COVID-19, mi-

grantes Zimbauenses

1 Institute for Social Development, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape.

seansithole88@gmail.com

2 Department of Geography, Environmental Studies and Tourism, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of the

Western Cape. dtevera@uwc.ac.za

3 Institute for Social Development, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Western Cape.

cmartens@usfq.edu.ec

Eutopía, Revista de Desarrollo Económico Territorial No. 22 - diciembre 2022

pp.10-32 • ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

TEMA CENTRAL

DOI 10.17141/eutopia.23.2022.5799

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

1. Introduction

Migration studies in global South countries have shown the potential of remittances to im-

prove the food security situations of impoverished rural, and urban households through cash

and goods sent back home by migrants. Scholarship on the contribution of transborder food

remittances in the global South to household food security has expanded in recent years

(Apatinga, Asiedu and Obeng 2022; Crush and Caesar 2018; 2020). In Sub-Saharan Africa

(SSA), remittances are an essential aspect of national economies and origin households in

particular (World Bank 2021; Smith and Floro 2021; Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe 2021;

Crush and Caesar 2018; Tevera and Chikanda 2009b). Studies carried out in Zimbabwe, and

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) have revealed that trans-border and in-country urban-rural

food remittances provide social protection for household food security and nutrition (Te-

vera and Chikanda 2009b; Tevera and Simelane 2014). However, while a broad narrative

is emerging on South-South food remittance ows, there are considerable knowledge gaps

in our understanding of the emerging dynamics due to the eects of global shocks, such as

COVID-19 national lockdowns and the fast-growing cross-border mobile money services.

Research on cash-remitting Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa, Botswana, and Es-

watini (formerly Swaziland), reveals the intersecting constraints presented by the unbanked

nature of many migrants and the high costs involved when using formal remitting channels

(Nzima 2017; Tevera and Chikanda 2009a). Since the COVID-19 lockdowns, there has

been a shift in cross-border cash remittances from money transmission services to low-priced

wireless transactions. Pre-COVID-19 lockdowns, most of the cash remittance recipients

across SSA got their money mainly through cash pick-ups at banks or agents of remittance

service providers. As recent international studies show, the transition to mobile money and

digital remittances has made cross-border cash remittances inexpensive and quicker than tra-

ditional money and bank transmissions (McAulie and Triandafyllidou 2021; World Bank

2021). e literature shows that factors such as comparatively low transaction costs, trans-

parent charges, and reachability have driven the ‘ntech revolution’ in the global South that

has contributed to the rapid growth of mobile/digital cash transfers and remittances in recent

years (Ilinitchi 2020; Kitimbo 2021; Rotondi and Billari 2022; Cirolia, Hall and Nyamnjoh

2022; Gukurume and Mahiya 2020; Merritt 2011; Tyce 2020).

For example, in SSA, low transaction costs and the elimination of proof of residential

address and immigration papers when sending cash and goods back home have removed

transfer barriers that have changed the remitting landscape in East and Southern Africa

through the rapid expansion of transborder cash and mobile food transfers. Kenya’s mobile

money service, popularly known as the M-Pesa system, has been presented in the literature

as a model mobile money service when international lending agencies are making a case in

favour of creating ideal conditions for innovative remitting channels. Similarly, EcoCash,

which Econet Wireless Private Limited launched pre-COVID-19, has emerged to domi-

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

nate mobile money services in Zimbabwe. e company also launched EcoCash Diaspora,

which is a cross-border mobile money service that is commonly used by South Africa-based

Zimbabweans to remit cash back home.

Cross-border food remittances have received inadequate attention (Apatinga, Asiedu

and Obeng 2022; Crush and Caesar 2016), and yet they contribute directly to household

food security, especially in the poverty-stricken informal settlements and in rural villages

where peasant cultivation has been ravaged by drought or oods. Recent studies by Sithole

and Dinbabo (2016) and Smith and Floro (2021) have highlighted the vital contribution

of remittances to household food security in several countries in the global South. Studies

of remittances to Zimbabwe have revealed that because of the country’s economic challeng-

es, which are reected by shrinking industrial production and high rates of unemployment

in the formal sector, cash remittances that are sent back home to family members of na-

tionals in the diaspora are mainly used to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter,

health, and education (Crush and Tevera 2010; Sithole and Dinbabo 2016; Tevera and

Chikanda 2009a; 2009b; Ramachandran et al. 2022).

is article contributes to the academic debate on migration and cross-border food

remittances by examining remitting food channels and the role of mobile transfers in SSA

using the experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town as a case in point. is

article is based on a mixed-methods study that was conducted in 2020 (the rst year of

the COVID-19 pandemic) and involved one hundred (100) questionnaire interviews and

ten (10) in-depth interviews on the food-remitting experiences of Zimbabwean migrants

residing in Cape Town, a major city in South Africa. More specically, the article seeks to

answer the question, how have Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town been sending food

remittances back home during the national mobility-restricting COVID-19 lockdowns

enforced by the central governments in both countries? In this article, our use of the term

‘mobile remittances’ is based on the conceptualisation of the term by Siegel and Fransen

(2013) in their paper on new technologies in remittance sending in Africa.

2. Mobile remittances and food remittances

Mobile money has transformed remitting patterns through expanded nancial inclusion

(especially of the previously unbanked population groups), including migrants who pre-

viously did not have access to safe money transfer facilities. Studies have highlighted how

mobile banking sources have facilitated the expansion of mobile remittance and have be-

come a vital instrument in oering nancial reach to the often unbanked groups (Siegel

and Fransen 2013). In SSA, the mobile money sector has expanded considerably during

the past decade, and this has facilitated the growth of trans-border remittance transfers

and the nancial inclusion of unbanked groups, including migrants and informal sector

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

entrepreneurs. Migrants across Africa increasingly use remittance service providers (RSPs)

to send cash or goods back home to their countries of origin. is is because they can de-

liver inexpensive, easy, and speedy money transmissions (Siegel and Fransen 2013; Tembo

and Okoro 2021).

e COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdowns have disrupted traditional re-

mittance channels due to the curtailment of everyday human mobility. At the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic, remittances through mobile money facilitated ows and experienced

limited to no adverse eects; therefore, they were resilient compared to other channels (An-

dersson-Manjang and Naghavi 2021). International remittances transferred and collected

via mobile money grew by $5 billion or 65% in 2020, reaching an annual amount of $12.7

billion in international transfers (Andersson-Manjang and Naghavi 2021). e volume of the

mobile remittance transmissions observed in 2020 is a tiny fraction of the total remittances

but has considerable potential to expand (World Bank 2021). At the policy level, govern-

ments have facilitated the expansion of mobile and digital remittance services by relaxing the

terms and conditions for completing transactions (World Bank 2018).

ere is evidence in Southern Africa that mobile and technological innovation facili-

tates the transfer of goods, such as food items (Muhamba 2020; Santosdiaz 2020; Sithole

2022; Washinyira 2020), through ntech and service providers such as Mukuru Groceries,

Malaicha, Tinokunda, Ahoyi Africa, Shumba Africa and Senditoo. In Zimbabwe, mobile

money transmission services such as EcoCash Diaspora facilitate the transfer of remittances

straight to the EcoCash mobile phone wallet of beneciaries (Nyanhete 2017; Mutsonziwa

and Maposa 2016). Mobile transfers have made it possible for people residing in remote

rural locations to receive cash and food remittances if they have access to mobile phones.

Elsewhere in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East during the rst wave of the COVID-19

pandemic, there was a rapid expansion of digital and online food purchasing and direct

delivery in local settings due to mobility restrictions and lockdowns (Ben Hassen, El Bilali

and Allahyari 2020; Liang, Zhong and Crush 2022; Njomane and Telukdarie 2022).

Addressing the digital and mobile food transfer gap can be crucial in understanding

how mobile channels have the potential to provide accessible, inexpensive, and conve-

nient methods of transmitting cross-border food remittances. Apatinga, Asiedu and Obeng

(2022) argue that while cash transmissions represent a large volume of remittances, in-kind

remittances are progressively highlighted as essential and consequently compel policy and

research consideration. In-kind remittances, such as food items, have gained limited focus

mainly because the transmissions are undertaken in informal channels (Crush and Cae-

sar 2018; 2020). Studies on international remittances within Africa characterise them as

the transfer of goods and money; nevertheless, the research generally excludes the eects,

signicance, and quantity of cross-border in-kind transfers like food (Crush and Caesar

2016). Noteworthy, in-kind remittances such as food are generally transferred through in-

formal channels because of the relatively low remitting cost (Tevera and Chikanda 2009a).

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

However, Crush, omaz and Ramachandran (2021) have shown that COVID-19 and

various containment measures, such as travel restrictions, disrupted the well-established

informal channels of remitting cross-border goods.

However, with the innovations in mobile and digital technology, there is developmental

potential for formal or semi-formal mobile channels to transmit goods such as food items.

e disruptions of informal channels and South-South migration movements at the height

of the COVID-19 lockdown measures and border closures enhanced the emergence of dig-

ital and mobile channels to send food remittances. Also, the digital and mobile pathways

are expanding because they are accessible to informal traders and irregular migrants who

can use the services to send remittances back home despite not having immigration papers

and bank accounts. erefore, extensive attention to mobile and digital cash remittances

should be directed to in-kind remittances, such as food which can also be transmitted via

mobile and digital channels.

3. Methodology

is research was based on primary data collected in 2020 in Cape Town’s southern and

northern suburbs of Claremont, Rondebosch, Wynberg, Kenilworth, and Bellville. A

mixed-methods approach involving ten (10) in-depth interviews and 100 questionnaire

surveys was conducted, and Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town were interviewed. e

study used the snowballing sampling method to select the migrants who participated in

the questionnaire survey, whereby the rst Zimbabwean migrant polled was asked to rec-

ommend the next food-remitting Zimbabwean migrant to interview. e population of

Zimbabweans in Cape Town is estimated to be at least 55000. e steps followed in quali-

tative data analysis included transcription, codication, cleaning, and analysis based on the

emerging themes. Quantitative data analysis involved inputting the data into a Microsoft

Excel spreadsheet and then transferring it to STATA 13.0, a statistical software. According-

ly, the subsequent phases comprised data labelling, dening, cleaning, and examining. All

ethical protocols were adhered to throughout the data collection process.

4. Results and discussion

4.1 Prole of food remitting migrants

Table 1 presents the demographic prole of the 100 migrants in Cape Town who were inter-

viewed for this study. e prole of the interviewed migrants shows considerable diversity

in terms of gender, age, marital status, occupation and amount of money spent on food

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

Table 1: Background and demographic information

Variable Category Percentage

Gender

Male 50%

Female 50%

N = 100

Age

30 years and below 20%

31 - 45 69%

46 + 11%

N = 100

Marital status

Married 45%

Single 42%

Divorced/Widowed 13%

N = 100

Breadwinner

Myself 75%

Husband 15%

Wife 10%

Dependents

None 13%

1-2 41%

3-4 42%

More than 4 4%

N = 100

Education

Primary 6

Secondary 17

University 77

N = 100

Occupation

oce worker 18%

student 22%

waiter 16%

bartender 12%

domestic worker 8%

health professional 6%

teacher 6%

Business man/woman 4%

lecturer 2%

informal trader 6%

N = 100

Source: Field survey (2020)

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

remittances. However, the group is relatively homogenous regarding educational attainment

because 77% had university-level qualications. eir occupations ranged from profession-

als, such as oce workers, health professionals, and lecturers, to blue-collar workers, such

as domestic workers and informal traders. is suggests that Zimbabwean migrants in Cape

Town with diverse backgrounds use digital channels to remit food back home.

e qualitative ndings were based on the narratives of ten (four female and six male)

Zimbabwean migrants interviewed in Cape Town. Table 2 provides information on the

respondents’ population group, gender, duration of stay in Cape Town and livelihood

sources. Several had part-time jobs in addition to their full-time jobs and were employed

as oce workers, lecturers, teachers, post-graduate students, bartenders, gardeners and

servers at food outlets.

Table 2: Background and demographic data

Participants

Population

group

Gender Main occupation

Duration

in Cape Town

Participant 1 Black Female Lecturer 10+ years

Participant 2 Black Male Post-graduate student 4+ years

Participant 3 Black Female Oce worker 10+ years

Participant 4 Black Female Oce worker 5+ years

Participant 5 Black Female Post-graduate student 7+ years

Participant 6 Black Male Waiter 3+ years

Participant 7 Black Male Bartender 8+ years

Participant 8 Black Male Gardener 5+ years

Participant 9 Black Male Teacher 6+ years

Participant 10 Black Male Lecturer 11+ years

Source: Field survey 2020

4.2 Migration and food remittance drivers

Zimbabwe has been one of the signicant migrant-sending countries in Southern Africa.

About 25-33% of the population is believed to be residing outside the country, with South

Africa being the main host country. In the current study, the respondents were asked to

explain why they had left Zimbabwe for Cape Town. ey were allowed to give multiple

reasons for emigrating from Zimbabwe to South Africa (hence the percentages in Figure 1)

do not add up to 100. Figure 1 shows that the main reasons for leaving Zimbabwe include

seeking job opportunities (85%), and escaping the economic crisis that Zimbabwe has

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

been experiencing since the 1990s. e main outmigration drivers were increasing unem-

ployment, high ination rates, and recurring droughts that have contributed to food price

hikes) (72%); food insecurity or food shortages (64%); the need for foreign employment

in order to send remittances back home (52%); educational or school purposes (47%);

and escaping political violence (30%). ese ndings are consistent with earlier studies

that have been conducted elsewhere in SSA that show that social, economic, or political

factors continue to be the drivers of international migration in Africa (Crush, Chikanda

and Tawodzera 2015; Crush and Tevera 2010; Dinbabo and Carciotto 2015; Mazwi 2021;

Tevera 2020).

Figure 1: Drivers of migration

Source: Field survey 2020

Table 3 highlights the factors that motivated the Zimbabwean migrants to remit food

back home to Zimbabwe. e results show that 43 per cent of the participants remit food

because of requests from household or family members back home, and 33 per cent do

so because the food remittances were essential items that the recipients back home needed

but could not aord. Only 24 per cent did so because their families were food insecure

because they could not aord the food or because the food was unavailable back home in

Zimbabwe. e ndings reveal that food remittances are a response to a lack of access to

food due to the family’s lack of resources to buy the required groceries and to general food

shortages in Zimbabwe. Since the fast-track land reform programme carried out by the

government at the beginning of the millennium, Zimbabwe has been a net food-importing

country that mainly relies on neighbouring countries for grain imports. Ramachandran

and Crush (2021) posit that food remittances mitigate economic shocks and aord con-

Find employment in SA

85%

Economic and social crisis in Zim

72%

Food shortages or food insecurity in Zim

64%

To ﬁnd the food needs of the ...

56%

To send remittances back to Zim

52%

School or educational reasons

47%

Political reasons

30%

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

sumption-smoothing purposes for deprived households. In this context, food remittances

have a developmental potential for food insecurity reduction and improved access to food

for poor communities.

Table 3: Motivations to remit food to Zimbabwe

Variable Category Frequency Percentage

Motivation to remit

food

Response for food requests from family/

household members back home

43 43%

To provide essential food items that the

recipients back home need but cannot aord

33 33%

Food shortages/household food insecurity back

home

24 24%

N = 100

Source: Field survey 2020

e respondents’ experiences illustrated that the drivers of food remittances are high food

prices, requests from relatives and family members, and the entrenched socio-econom-

ic challenges in Zimbabwe. As explained by a Zimbabwean migrant (Participant #5), a

married female aged 30 with one child. She was pursuing her post-graduate studies at the

time of the interviews and had lived in Cape Town for over seven years. She worked part-

time as a student assistant at the university where she was studying. During the in-depth

interviews, she expressed concerns about getting full-time employment and immigration

documents (work permits), especially given the context of increasing anti-immigrant sen-

timents in South Africa. Failure to secure full-time would aect her capacity to send food

remittances back home, and this worried her constantly. Regarding reasons for sending

food remittances, she noted that ‘…sometimes family members back home phone me to

say, we have run out of basic food’.

Another respondent (Participant #1), a single female lecturer aged 31, had lived in

Cape Town for more than ten years and had managed to get full-time employment eight

years after arrival. She migrated to South Africa for educational reasons and later got a job

at the same institution where she obtained her undergraduate and post-graduate degrees.

During the in-depth interviews, she noted that she had a special skills work permit but was

struggling to get a permanent residence permit due to delays in the outcome of her applica-

tion at the Department of Home Aairs. She regularly sends food and cash remittances to

support her family members in Zimbabwe. She said, ‘…my reasons for sending back food

are mainly based on the requests that my family makes’. Clearly, in this case, participant #1

provided social protection to her family, which was food insecure and dependent on her.

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

is research revealed that the main reasons for remitting food are varied, including

requests from the recipients who are household or family members, high food prices, so-

cio-economic crisis back in the country of origin, food insecurity or food shortages and

because the recipients may require the food items. e research corroborates the assertions

by Crush and Tevera (2010), Sithole and Dinbabo (2016), Tevera and Chikanda (2009a;

2009b), and Ramachandran et al. (2022) that social, economic and political calamities in

Zimbabwe are the drivers that compel families to encourage some of their members to mi-

grate with the goal of sending remittances. In other words, migration is used as a rational

family strategy whose goal is to provide social protection in situations where ocial social

protection programmes are non-existent.

4.3 Commonly remitted food items and frequency of transfers

e main food items remitted regularly are diverse, and they include grain-based foods,

staple foods in Zimbabwe, and perishable and non-perishable foods. Table 4 provides a list

of the main food items sent and the number of respondents who normally send the food

types. Worth noting is that the list includes both perishable and non-perishable food items;

food items experiencing regular supply shortages (e.g. bread). e most common items in-

clude cooking oil (68%), rice (62%); sugar (57%), mealie meal (50%), beans (46%), juice

or drink (45%), peanut butter (45%); meat (41%); and our (40%).

Notably, perishable food item transfers were facilitated by the usage of mobile food

remitting channels like Malaicha and Mukuru Groceries. e transfer of perishable foods

is facilitated by the conditions of the mobile services, which enable beneciaries of the

transmitted food to collect their food items in Zimbabwe as soon as the transactions in

Cape Town are completed.

When asked how regularly they send food remittances to Zimbabwe, most participants

stated that they did not have pre-determined times to send food remittances back home.

Instead, they did so whenever it was possible (59%); while only 14% were able to do so

every month, an additional 14% were able to do so only once a year, followed by 9% who

could do it twice a year; and 4% were able to send food back home every three months

(Figure 2).

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

Table 4: Remitted food items

Food type Frequency Percentage

Cooking oil 68 68%

Rice 62 62%

Sugar 57 57%

Mealie meal 50 50%

Beans 46 46%

Drinks or juice 45 45%

Peanut butter 45 45%

Meat

41 41%

Flour 40 40%

Salt 39 39%

Jam 38 38%

Milk 31 31%

Kapenta (dried small sh) 29 29%

Soups and spices 28 28%

Tinned tomatoes and onions 27 27%

Nuts 26 26%

Cereals 26 26%

Tinned sh 24 24%

Bread 22 22%

Honey 21 21%

Vegetables 20 20%

Tea 20 20%

Eggs 17 17%

Fruits 15 15%

Margarine 14 14%

Source: Field survey 2020

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

Figure 2: Food remitting frequency

Source: Field survey 2020

Notable in the study was an association between the amount used on purchasing food each

time they transmitted food and the average monthly incomes. For example, all the partici-

pants who had monthly earnings of R0 – R4000 transferred foodstus valued at R1000 or

less, with a majority of those who transmitted foodstus valued between R3001 – R4000+

had monthly incomes of R15001 or more (Table 5).

Table 5: Amount spent on purchases of food that is remitted to Zimbabwe

Monthly income Average expenditure on food remittances to Zimbabwe

< R1001 R1001 – R2000 R2001 – R3000 R3001 – R4000 R4001 + Total

R0 – R4000 10 0 0 0 0 10

R4001 – R8000 29 3 1 0 0 33

R8001 – R15000 8 9 5 1 0 23

R15001 – R20000 0 6 3 3 2 14

R20001+ 0 2 6 5 7 20

Total 47 20 15 9 9 100

N = 100

Source: Author’s eld survey 2020

o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

4%Every 3 months

9%Twicew a year

14%Once a year

14%Once every month

59%Whenever it is possible

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

4.4 Mobile and informal food remittance channels

e study ndings indicated that 48 per cent mainly transmit food remittances from the

host country to the home country through mobile channels, 8 per cent personally, 11 per

cent via friends, kin or associates, and 33 per cent via transport carriers (Figure 3). e ex-

periences of the Zimbabwean migrants highlighted that the channels to transfer food items

to Zimbabwe include transport carriers, family or associates and mobile passages.

Figure 3: Main food remitting channels

Source: Field survey 2020

To illustrate the signicance of mobile remitting channels, one respondent (Participant

#9), a 42 years old male teacher with four children and married to a South African wom-

an. He had been in South Africa for six years and holds a master’s degree, and previously

worked as a waiter before getting a teaching job in Cape Town. He was working using the

Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Visa. However, after the announcement by the South Af-

rican government that the special permits were to be phased out, he was worried about not

qualifying for other immigration categories and losing his job. He stayed in a low-income

area, and his salary was inadequate to support his housewife and children. Regarding the

use of digital and mobile services to transfer food remittances, he stated, ‘I was using buses

to send my family some groceries. But because the pandemic caused the border to close,

I decided to use the Malaicha and Mukuru services on my phone’. e critical part that

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

8%Personally

11%Friens/relatives/associates

33%Transport carriers

48%Mobile channels

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

mobile channels perform in transmitting food items from the place of destination to the

area of origin was corroborated by other participants who noted that mobile channels are

dependable, cheap, accessible and rapid.

Channelling food items through informal passages was also vital, especially during the

COVID-19 pandemic and limitations. In periods of crisis, the Zimbabwean migrants

seem to cope by looking for unusual methods of transferring foodstus and goods back

home. For example, (Participant #3), a married female oce worker aged 32 with several

university degrees, cared for family members (including extended family members) in both

South Africa and Zimbabwe. She noted that the household income had reduced because

her husband, who worked in the informal sector, could not engage in any economic activ-

ities because of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown and restrictions on informal trading.

In terms of channelling remittances to Zimbabwe, she indicated that

…so the regular forms of transportation I used could not work because the borders were clo-

sed, but because funeral companies were allowed to move around for repatriation purposes,

I also had to resort to using that…

e COVID-19 pandemic presents an increasing challenge to humanity’s economic, health

and social welfare (Dinbabo 2020). e COVID-19 pandemic pressed governments to

take measures that negatively impacted local food systems and supply chains (Crush and Si

2020; Paganini et al. 2020). Also, the COVID-19 pandemic aected migration currents;

for example, in 2020, limitations on cross-border movement and border post closings re-

sulted in decreased migration movements into South Africa (Crush, omaz and Ramach-

andran 2021). Crush and Si (2020) assert that the COVID-19 control measures abruptly

aected food security in several Southern cities. e eects include the interruption of vital

economic ventures, such as prohibitions on street vending and informal food markets, the

distraction of food supply chains, restrictions on mobility, job losses, and lessening house-

hold income (Crush and Si 2020).

Noteworthy, mobile channels were valuable in sending food remittances to Zimba-

bwe. However, mobile channels were also mainly used by professionals who had access to

legitimate immigration documentation, such as oce workers, health professionals and

students. Although undocumented migrants and informal traders can access digital and

mobile services to transfer low-cost food remittances, they are still hesitant to use them.

is is due to the fear that their personal details (phone number, ID documents and pho-

tograph) could be used by immigration and law enforcement ocials to track, arrest, per-

secute or deport them. e Zimbabwean migrants utilised various channels to transfer

food items to their relatives, family, or household members in Zimbabwe. Previous studies

(Maphosa 2007; Nyamunda 2014; Nzima 2017; Tevera and Chikanda 2009a) have also

indicated that Zimbabwean migrants use various channels to transfer remittances, this

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

includes formal and informal passages. us, the ndings of this research illustrate that the

paths to transmit food included informal tracks like transport carriers, associates, relatives,

friends and personally.

Social networking and social capital on social media sites like Facebook, WhatsApp

and Twitter amongst the Zimbabwean migrants and their associates, friends, family, and

household members were crucial in channelling food remittances. Social media transforms

migration networks through social networking and as a valuable resource for helpful infor-

mation (Dekker and Engbersen 2014; Dekker et al. 2018). Accordingly, 69 respondents

were in social media groups comprising family or household members (53.62%), friends

(24.64%) and fellow Zimbabweans (21.74%). Content and communication in social me-

dia groups assisted in deciding the channels to transmit food (46.38%), food types to

transfer (37.68%), and the period to channel the food (15.94%). e study highlighted

the signicance of social media communication and content in accessing the cheapest

channels (29%), accessible channels (27%), quickest channels (25%) and reliable channels

(19%). Also, 74% of the 100 respondents in the study revealed that social media interac-

tion via texts or voice mediums impacted the selection of the food-remitting channels they

utilised the most. Additionally, 58% of the participants noted that social media posts and

news aected their decisions to choose the food-remitting channels they used the most.

e respondents’ narratives highlighted that interaction and content on social media

sites like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp facilitated the ow of helpful information on

the reachable, dependable, and inexpensive channels to transfer food. For instance, (Par-

ticipant #3) remarked that ‘…on the Zimbabweans in Cape Town, Facebook page, and

when we were under level ve lockdown. Many people were also asking on social media

how people with urgent requests from Zimbabwe are sending through the things.’ e

participant also said, ‘…somebody wrote that they were working with a funeral company

that repatriates bodies of deceased Zimbabweans. And that’s how they were getting their

goods through….’ e utilisation of funeral businesses to transmit in-kind remittances to

Zimbabwe was undertaken covertly and illicitly to evade exposure from law enforcement

personnel.

Additionally, the signicance of social networking in social media groups and infor-

mation sharing between migrants and their associates or family members were revealed in

the research as remarked by a respondent (Participant #3), a female oce worker aged 32

added:

We have several family groups with dierent members in almost all the groups I’m part of.

I mean, we have a group for our nuclear family, we have groups who are extended families

from the mother’s side from the father’s side, we have church groups that I’m part of, I’m

in groups with friends. And in all those groups, we discussed the escalating food prices in

Zimbabwe at some point.

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

e participant also stated the importance of the conversations in social media groups

between the migrants and their associates or family members that are useful in oering

benecial information related to the transfer of remittances:

... as those conversations go, we talk about how we, as migrants in South Africa, can send

things home. We also get the opportunity to ask how other people are also sending home,

so in all of those groups, I can’t think of any group where at some point, we have not had a

discussion on sending things to Zimbabwe and just sharing ideas and suggestions on which

way or method is best to use ... .

Smartphones, digital platforms and mobile gadgets can facilitate virtual interaction or

sharing of information on social media platforms. erefore, the eectiveness of social

networking on social media in the backdrop of constrained face-to-face communications

initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic and movement constraints was apparent in the

study, as noted by a female lecturer aged 31 (Participant #1):

e biggest challenge with food remitting based on COVID-19 is human-to-human con-

tact. So, social media assists in communicating specic information because, as I said before,

now you know we’ve entered into a period where businesses can operate within the restric-

tions of Covid or the recognition of Covid restrictions, so social distancing masking etc.

e research also uncovered that social media is resourceful in channelling food remittanc-

es by enabling consumers to make transactions on social media platforms like WhatsApp.

Social media enables individuals to communicate via WhatsApp, even, you know, engaging

and making purchases. You can nd links on social media to shops you might want to buy

from. And also you can share all of this information via WhatsApp and social media.

4.5 Food remitting challenges

ere are several reasons why the frequency of sending food back home is lower than ex-

pected. First, there is a relatively high cost of food transfers by bus or the malaichas because

of the long distances between Cape Town and the various food destinations in Zimbabwe.

Second, there is a risk involved when food is sent by road, as it can be conscated at the

Beitbridge border by the ZIMRA ocials if the quantity is high or the importation proto-

cols are not observed. ird, remitting food using malaichas or friends is risky because it is

based on trust, and if something goes wrong, the sender is not compensated. is explains

why some Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town have opted to do virtual food transfers.

However, as shown below, several challenges are associated with virtual food transfers.

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

e food-remitting Zimbabwean migrants faced various challenges when channelling

food items to their country of origin. e results of the study indicated that the challenges

included delivery delays (22%), destroyed/broken foodstus (11%); missing/lost/stolen

(11%); expensive to remit food (21%); and 35% did not encounter any challenges (Table

6). Also, mobile channels primarily had challenges such as being expensive to remit and

transaction problems.

Table 6: Food remittance channels and challenges

Food remittance

channels

Food remitting challenges experienced by the migrants

Frequent

delivery

delays

e food gets

lost/stolen in

transit

e food gets

damaged/spoilt

in transit

High

remitting

costs

challenges

experienced

Total

Buses, Trucks, Taxis,

transport, carriers,

couriers

14 11 7 0 1 33

Mobile 1 0 0 19 28 48

Personally 0 0 0 2 6 8

Friends, relatives, and

associates

7 0 4 0 0 11

Total 22 11 11 21 35 100

N = 100

Source: Field survey 2020

e above challenges were also echoed in the narratives of the Zimbabwean migrants. For

instance, (Participant #10), a male and full-time lecturer aged 59 years old, migrated to

Cape Town with his family in 2008 at the peak of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe. Be-

fore relocating, he was a lecturer at a local University in Zimbabwe, where the low salaries

were inadequate to support himself and his family. His recent employment at a university

in South Africa provided adequate resources for personal, family and remittance transfers

to help relatives back in Zimbabwe. He indicated the problems faced when using mobile

applications to transfer food by saying, ‘Sometimes the system is down, which makes it

dicult to complete a transaction.’ e respondent also highlighted that ‘In some situa-

tions, I buy groceries online, but when my family wants to collect the goods, they are told

that the items are out of stock…to resolve the problem, you get a refund or wait until the

goods are available’.

Also, another respondent, a male post-graduate student aged 27 (Participant #2), had

multiple income streams, such as a full scholarship, lecturing and research jobs at the uni-

versity he was studying. He also transmitted remittances to support his family in Zimba-

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

bwe. He commented on mobile channels and their challenges ‘… many stories where the

food doesn’t arrive on time, or the order has changed, you know, end up getting what you

don’t want or something’. Registering to use semi-formal or formal channels like mobile

passages was also a problem. A respondent in the study stated that registering to use mobile

applications was challenging because of the requirement to show a photograph, proof of

residence and identity documents. In the survey, bartenders, servers, gardeners and workers

in the informal sector who were irregular migrants were hesitant to use digital and mobile

services to send remittances. Because of concern, law enforcement and immigration o-

cials could acquire their identity information and trace, detain, persecute or deport them.

Commenting on the challenge of registering to use mobile channels, Participant #2

stated that ‘the main issue that makes someone not want to, you know, go through that

process is because I’m a bit sceptical of giving out the information because they say send

a photograph of your passport, and then send a sele of yourself’. Additionally, mobile

applications had delays in the approval of registration and problems in the acceptance of

provided documents. is was illustrated by the respondent who added, ‘sometimes you

can take a photograph of yourself and then it’s not approved, they sent a query back to say

maybe the picture is not the right size, or the lighting is poor, we can’t compare the sele

and the passport.’ In this study, informal channels mainly had challenges such as misplaced,

stolen, or lost goods, broken or destroyed food items and delivery delays. Informal channels

to transmit food, such as transport carriers, also had notable challenges, such as impounding

goods by border ocials because of not paying taxes or duties and misplaced goods.

For example, (Participant #3), a female oce worker aged 32, remarked that ‘… be-

cause there is no warranty on your goods. ere was no refund process, so whatever was

given to the wrong person was the money I lost. It could not be recouped in any way, and

the guy was also unable to reimburse me.’ e study ndings concur with earlier studies

by Maphosa (2007), Tevera and Chikanda (2009a), and, more recently, Nzima (2017),

who observed that migrants who used informal remittance channels to remit cash or goods

back home often experienced problems like the unreliability of remittance carriers, delivery

delays, and thefts. e research ndings revealed that the informal and mobile channels

of transferring food remittances were associated with various challenges. Despite these

challenges, many migrants reported that several factors compelled them to continue using

informal remittance channels to send food back home because they do not have bank ac-

counts due to their irregular status. e other constraints relate to access challenges, such

as limited access to the internet and online services.

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

5. Conclusion

e use of digital and mobile technology by migrants is increasingly becoming the way of

sending transborder food remittances back home in SSA. is article provides insights into

how digital and mobile technology presents a speedy, reachable, low-priced, and easy-to-

use food-remitting channel. For example, mobile grocery or food remitting channels were

accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic when travel restrictions and border closures

disrupted informal food remitting channels. Social media platforms have been crucial in

facilitating the ow of information, such as accessible and reliable food remitting channels,

types of food items to remit, and the best times to do so. e mobile money facilities are

making it possible for unbanked groups, such as migrants, without regular employment or

immigration papers, to transfer remittances. e article has highlighted how mobile food

transfers have become a convenient and dependable way of remitting food back home. e

potential eects of food remittances on household food security should be of interest to

national policymakers so that they can design policies for harnessing the potential of these

remittances into the development of blended food systems that involve both local and

imported foods. However, since we did not interview the recipients of mobile food trans-

fers in Zimbabwe, it is impossible to determine the impact of these transfers on the food

security circumstances of the receiving households. erefore, there is a need for further

research and policy attention on the food remitting channels and, more importantly, the

impact of food remittances on household food security back in Zimbabwe. Similarly, there

is a need for research on the use of mobile/digital technologies by Zimbabwean migrants

in other neighbouring countries to transmit food remittances and internal food transfers

within Zimbabwe.

Acknowledgements

We want to thank the Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town whose willingness to share

their experiences made this research possible.

References

Andersson-Manjang, Simon, and Nika Naghavi. 2021. “State of the industry report on

mobile money 2021”, accessed May 3, 2022, https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordeve-

lopment/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GSMA_State-of-the-Industry-Report-on-Mo-

bile-Money-2021_Summary.pdf

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

Apatinga, Gervin Ane, Alex Asiedu and Faustina Adomaa Obeng. 2022. “e contribution

of non-cash remittances to the welfare of households in the Kassena-Nankana District,

Ghana”.African Geographical Review 41(2): 214-225.

Ben Hassen, Tarek, Hamid El Bilali and Mohammad Allahyari. 2020. “Impact of CO-

VID-19 on food behaviour and consumption in Qatar”. Sustainability 12(17): 6973.

Cirolia, Liza Rose, Suzanne Hall and Henrietta Nyamnjoh. 2022. “Remittance micro‐

worlds and migrant infrastructure: Circulations, disruptions, and the movement of mo-

ney”.Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers47(1): 63-76.

Crush, Jonathan, and Mary Caesar. 2016. “Food Remittances: Migration and Food Secu-

rity in Africa”. Waterloo: SAMP Migration Policy Series No 72.

Crush, Jonathan, and Mary Caesar. 2018. “Food remittances and food security: a re-

view”.Migration and Development 7(2): 180-200.

Crush, Jonathan, and Mary Caesar. 2020. “Food remittances and food security”. In Hand-

book on Urban Food Security in the Global South, compiled by Jonathan Crush, Bruce

Frayne and Gareth Haysom, 282-306. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Crush, Jonathan, Abel Chikanda and Godfrey Tawodzera. 2015. “e third wave: mixed

migration from Zimbabwe to South Africa”.Canadian Journal of African Studies/Re-

vue canadienne des études africaines 49(2): 363-382.

Crush, Jonathan, and Zhenzhong Si. 2020. “COVID-19 containment and food security

in the Global South”.Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Develo-

pment9(4): 149-151.

Crush, Jonathan, and Daniel Tevera. 2010.Zimbabwe’s exodus: Crisis, Migration, Survival.

Cape Town and Ottawa: SAMP and IDRC.

Crush, Jonathan, Diana omaz and Sujata Ramachandran. 2021. “South-South Migra-

tion, Food Insecurity, and the COVID-19 Pandemic”. Waterloo: MiFood Paper No 1.

Dekker, Rianne, and Godfried Engbersen. 2014. “How social media transform migrant

networks and facilitate migration”.Global Networks14(4): 401-418.

Dekker, Rianne, Godfried Engbersen, Jeanine Klaver and Hanna Vonk. 2018. “Smart re-

fugees: How Syrian asylum migrants use social media information in migration deci-

sion-making”.Social Media+ Society4(1): 1-11.

Dinbabo, Mulugeta, and Sergio Carciotto. 2015. “International migration in sub-Saharan Afri-

ca: A call for a global research agenda”.African Human Mobility Review 1(2): 154-177.

Gukurume, Simbarashe, and Innocent Mahiya. 2020. “Mobile money and the (un) ma-

king of social relations in Chivi, Zimbabwe”.Journal of Southern African Studies46(6):

1203-1217.

Ilinitchi, Cristina Prochazkova. 2020. “Fintech revolution in transition countries–remit-

tances and mobile money”.Journal Transition Studies Review27(1): 103-122.

Kitimbo, Adrian. 2021. “Mobile money and nancial inclusion of migrants in sub-Saha-

ran Africa”. In Research Handbook on International Migration and Digital Techno-

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

logy, compiled by Marie McAulie, 251-266. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Liang, Yajia, Taiyang Zhong and Jonathan Crush. 2022. “Boon or Bane? Urban Food

Security and Online Food Purchasing during the COVID-19 Epidemic in Nanjing,

China”. Land 11(6): 945.

Maphosa, France. 2007. “Remittances and development: the impact of migration to Sou-

th Africa on rural livelihoods in southern Zimbabwe”.Development Southern Afri-

ca24(1): 123-136.

Mazwi, Freedom. 2021. “e impact of migratory practices on food security and asset

accumulation in Zimbabwe: a study”.African Geographical Review 41(2): 240-251.

McAulie, Marie, and Anna Triandafyllidou. 2021. “World Migration Report 2022”. Ge-

neva: International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Merritt, Cynthia. 2011. “Mobile money transfer services: the next phase in the evolution of

person-to-person payments”.Journal of Payments Strategy and Systems5(2): 143-160.

Muhamba, Valentine. 2020. “3 ways Zimbabweans in South Africa can send groceries back

home.” October 20, 2020. https://www.techzim.co.zw/2020/10/3-ways-zimbabweans-

in-south-africa-can-send-groceries-back-home/

Mutsonziwa, Kingstone, and Obert Maposa. 2016. “Mobile money-A catalyst for nancial

inclusion in developing economies: A case study of Zimbabwe using FinScope survey

data”.International Journal of Financial Management 6(3): 45-56.

Njomane, Linda, and Arnesh Telukdarie. 2022. “Impact of COVID-19 food supply chain:

Comparing the use of IoT in three South African supermarkets”. Technology in Society

71: 102051.

Nyamunda, Tinashe. 2014. “Cross-Border Couriers as Symbols of Regional Grievance?

e Malayitsha Remittance System in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe”. African Diaspo-

ra7(1): 38-62.

Nyanhete, Alois. 2017. “e role of international mobile remittances in promoting nan-

cial inclusion and development”.European Journal of Sustainable Development6(2):

256-266.

Nzima, Divane. 2017. “Channelling Migrant Remittances from South Africa to Zimba-

bwe: Opportunities and Obstacles”.Alternation Journal24(1): 294-313.

Paganini, Nicole, Kustiwa Adinata, Nomonde Buthelezi, David Harris, Stefanie Lemke,

Alberto Luis, Jennifer Koppelin Abdulrazak Karriem, Fezile Ncube, Enzo Nervi Agui-

rre, Tandu Ramba, Inês Raimundo, Nedim Sulejmanovi´c, Haidee Swanby, Daniel Te-

vera and Silke Stöberet. 2020. “Growing and Eating Food during the COVID-19 Pan-

demic: Farmers’ Perspectives on Local Food System Resilience to Shocks in Southern

Africa and Indonesia”.Sustainability 12(20): 8556.

Ramachandran, Sujata, and Jonathan Crush. 2021. “Between Burden and Benet: Mi-

grant Remittances, Social Protection and Sustainable Development”. Waterloo: SAMP

Migration Policy Series No 83.

Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

Ramachandran, Sujata, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera and Elizabeth Opiyo On-

yango. 2022. “Pandemic Food Precarity, Crisis-Living and Translocality: Zimbabwean

Migrant Households in South Africa during COVID-19”. Waterloo: SAMP Migration

Policy Series No 85.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. 2021. “Monetary Policy Statement: Staying on Course in Fos-

tering Price and Financial System Stability”, accessed on November 8, 2022, https://

www.rbz.co.zw/documents/press/2021/February/Monetary-Policy-Statement-18-Fe-

bruary-2021.pdf

Rotondi, Valentina, and Francesco Billari. 2022. “Mobile Money and School Participa-

tion: Evidence from Africa”. Population Research and Policy Review 41(1): 343-362.

Santosdiaz, Richie. 2020. “Spotlight MEA: Virtually Buying Goods and Services in Zim-

babwe.” September 10, 2020. https://thentechtimes.com/spotlight-mea-virtually-bu-

ying-goods-and-services-in-zimbabwe/

Siegel, Melissa, and Sonja Fransen. 2013. “New technologies in remittance sending:

Opportunities for mobile remittances in Africa”.African Journal of Science, Technolo-

gy, Innovation, and Development5(5): 423-438.

Sithole, Sean. 2022. “e evolving role of social media in food remitting: Evidence from

Zimbabwean Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa”. PhD esis in Development Stu-

dies, University of the Western Cape South Africa.

Sithole, Sean, and Mulugeta Dinbabo. 2016. “Exploring youth migration and the food

security nexus: Zimbabwean youths in Cape Town, South Africa”.African Human Mo-

bility Review (AHMR)2(2): 512-537.

Smith, Michael, and Maria Floro. 2021. “e eects of domestic and international remit-

tances on food insecurity in low-and middle-income countries”.e Journal of Deve-

lopment Studies57(7): 1198-1220.

Tembo, Jonathan, and Chioma Okoro. 2021. “Mobile money and regional nancial inte-

gration: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa”.Journal of Economic and Financial Scien-

ces14(1): a655.

Tevera, Daniel. 2020. “Imagining Borders, Borderlands, Migration and Integration in

Africa: e Search for Connections and Disjunctures”. In Borders, Mobility, Regional

Integration, and Development. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political

Development, edited by Christopher Changwe Nshimbi and Innocent Moyo, 15-23.

Springer, Cham.

Tevera, Daniel, and Abel Chikanda. 2009a. “Migrant Remittances and Household survival

in Zimbabwe”. Cape Town: SAMP Migration Policy Series No 51.

Tevera, Daniel, and Abel Chikanda. 2009b. “Development Impact of International Remi-

ttances: Some Evidence from Origin Households in Zimbabwe”. Global Development

Studies 5(3-4): 273-302.

Sean Sithole, Daniel Tevera and Mulugeta F. Dinbabo

EUTOPÍA

Número 22 • diciembre 2022 • págs. 10-32

ISSN: 1390 5708 • E-ISSN: 2602 8239

Tevera, Daniel, and Simelane, Nomzamo. 2014. ‘Food for the Urban Poor: Safety Nets and

Food-Based Social

Protection in Manzini, Swaziland’, Urban Forum, 25(2), pp. 241-

252.

Tyce, Matthew. 2020. “Beyond the neoliberal-statist divide on the drivers of innovation:

A political settlements reading of Kenya’s M-Pesa success story”. World Develop-

ment125: 104621.

Washinyira, Tariro. 2020. “Zimbabweans in SA welcome new service to send groce-

ries home.” May 18, 2020. https://www.groundup.org.za/article/zimbabweans-li-

ving-sa-welcome-new-remittance-service-get-groceries-relatives-back-home/

World Bank, 2021. “Recovery: COVID-19 Crisis through a Migration Lens”. Migration

and Development Brief No. 35. Washington, D.C: World Bank.