The Contributions of Multinational Telecommunication Companies to Building Entrepreneurship in Subsistence Marketplaces in Cameroon. The Case of Mobile Telephone Networks (MTN) and Orange Cameroun

Introduction

Subsistence marketplaces refer to markets in which individuals and households operate with limited financial resources and often face challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, limited access to finance, low purchasing power, and restricted access to formal markets. Despite these constraints, subsistence marketplaces are not simply passive markets for low-income consumers. They contain entrepreneurial activities through which individuals create livelihoods, develop products and services, and respond to local needs. The concept of subsistence marketplaces moves beyond viewing low-income people merely as consumers. It recognizes them as consumers, producers, entrepreneurs, and members of communities who use limited resources to satisfy their needs and generate livelihoods (Viswanathan & Rosa 2007).

Viswanathan et al., (2010) emphasize that social networks and marketplace interactions are particularly important in these environments. The literature on entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces has increasingly emphasized the importance of understanding low-income consumers as active economic actors and potential entrepreneurs. Building entrepreneurship in these markets therefore involves more than providing financial assistance. It requires improving access to knowledge, technology, finance, markets, networks, and institutional support while encouraging innovation based on local needs Viswanathan, et al., 2009). Multinational companies (MNCs) can build entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces—markets where people have low and often irregular incomes—by creating opportunities for local people to become producers, distributors, retailers, service providers, and business owners. However, MNCs need to ensure that their activities genuinely strengthen local entrepreneurship rather than simply creating dependence on the multinational company. Fair pricing, local ownership, skills transfer, and long-term partnerships are therefore important (Verbeke & Osiyevskyy 2019). The rapid expansion of mobile telecommunications has transformed economic activities in developing countries, particularly within low-income and subsistence marketplaces. Mobile phones, mobile money, internet services, digital platforms, and mobile-based financial services have reduced communication and transaction barriers that traditionally constrained small businesses. Aker and Mbiti (2010) observe that mobile telephony in Africa connects individuals to information, markets, and services while substantially reducing communication costs. Against this background, mobile telecommunication companies can become important actors in building entrepreneurship by providing affordable communication, mobile financial services, market information, digital platforms, entrepreneurial training, and business networks. Although existing literature provides substantial evidence that mobile phones and mobile money can improve financial inclusion, communication, market access, and business activities, three gaps exist concerning the specific role of mobile telecommunication companies in deliberately building entrepreneurship within subsistence marketplaces. First, much of the existing literature focuses on technology adoption and consumer welfare, with less attention to the role of multinational telecommunications companies in actively building entrepreneurial ecosystems around low-income markets. Second, existing studies often examine entrepreneurship at the level of the individual entrepreneur. Less attention has been given to the inter-organizational relationships through which entrepreneurial opportunities are created, particularly relationships between multinational telecommunications companies and informal or micro-scale entrepreneurs. Third, relatively limited research has integrated the perspectives of subsistence marketplaces, entrepreneurial ecosystems, multinational enterprises, and resource access to explain entrepreneurship in African contexts. The Cameroonian context is particularly useful because telecommunications and mobile-money networks have become embedded in everyday economic activities while many businesses continue to operate under significant resource constraints. This study addresses these gaps by examining how multinational telecommunication companies contribute to entrepreneurship development within Cameroon's subsistence marketplaces. It specifically investigates the resources, relationships, capabilities, and marketplace mechanisms through which telecommunications companies enable individuals to enter, sustain, and expand entrepreneurial activities.

Literature Review

Concept of Subsistence Marketplaces and Entrepreneurship

Subsistence marketplaces are characterized by low and sometimes irregular incomes, limited access to formal financial services, inadequate infrastructure, and high levels of informal economic activity. However, the literature cautions against viewing such marketplaces exclusively through the lens of poverty. The subsistence-marketplace perspective adopts a bottom-up approach that examines the capabilities, knowledge, relationships, and entrepreneurial activities of people living in resource-constrained environments (Viswanathan & Rosa 2007). Entrepreneurship in these markets frequently takes the form of micro and small businesses such as petty trading, agriculture, transportation, food processing, retailing, repair services, and other informal activities. Entrepreneurs often rely on personal relationships and community networks to obtain information, customers, suppliers, credit, and business support. Viswanathan et al. (2010) found that social networks are particularly important because information shared through these networks contributes to the development of consumer and entrepreneurial marketplace skills. Thus Aker (2010) suggests that mobile telecommunications can strengthen entrepreneurship partly by digitizing and expanding existing social and business networks. According to Audretsch & Belitski (2017) entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces is frequently associated with necessity entrepreneurship, where individuals establish businesses because formal employment opportunities are limited. However, researchers have increasingly recognized that entrepreneurship in low-income communities can also involve opportunity recognition, innovation, and market creation. Viswanathan, Sridharan, and Ritchie (2008) emphasize that entrepreneurs in subsistence contexts often rely heavily on informal networks and local knowledge. Their businesses tend to be small, flexible, and closely connected to community needs. Consequently, building entrepreneurship requires an approach that recognizes the realities of subsistence entrepreneurs rather than simply transferring conventional business models developed for developed economies. One of the most frequently identified barriers to entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces is limited access to finance. Small entrepreneurs often lack collateral, formal financial records, and access to conventional banking services. As a result, they may depend on personal savings, family members, rotating savings groups, informal lenders, or supplier credit. Entrepreneurs also require financial literacy, business skills, appropriate products, market opportunities, and supportive institutions. Therefore, an effective entrepreneurship-development strategy should combine finance with training, mentoring, market access, and business support (Ahmad, 2020). Entrepreneurial knowledge is another important factor in building businesses in subsistence marketplaces. Entrepreneurs may have considerable practical knowledge but limited formal training in accounting, marketing, business planning, inventory management, or financial management. Training programs can improve entrepreneurs' ability to identify opportunities, manage resources, understand customers, and make informed business decisions. Mentorship can further strengthen these capabilities by providing entrepreneurs with practical guidance and experience (Donner, 2004). The literature therefore supports the development of context-specific entrepreneurial education rather than relying exclusively on conventional classroom-based entrepreneurship programs. Innovation plays an important role in entrepreneurship within resource-constrained environments. Entrepreneurs in subsistence marketplaces often develop inexpensive and locally appropriate solutions because they cannot afford conventional technologies or business processes. This is closely related to the concept of frugal innovation, where products and services are designed to provide essential functions at affordable prices while using limited resources. Local entrepreneurs can use their understanding of community problems to develop solutions in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, transportation, education, food processing, and renewable energy. Multinational companies can contribute by combining their technological and managerial capabilities with the local knowledge of subsistence entrepreneurs (Friederici, Wahome, & Graham, 2020). A study by Madichie, Mpofu, and Kolo, (2017) reported that limited access to profitable markets can restrict the growth of subsistence enterprises. Many entrepreneurs operate within small geographical areas and have limited information about customers, prices, suppliers, and alternative markets. Thus according to Jack, Ray and Suri (2013) digital technologies have created new possibilities for overcoming some of these limitations. Mobile phones, social media, digital payment systems, and online marketplaces can enable entrepreneurs to reach customers, obtain market information, advertise products, and receive payments. Market access is particularly important because entrepreneurship becomes more sustainable when entrepreneurs can move beyond survival-oriented activities and develop reliable and expanding customer bases.

The Role of Multinational Companies

The relationship between multinational companies (MNCs) and entrepreneurship in low-income markets has received increasing attention in international business, entrepreneurship, development, and marketing scholarship. Much of this literature has developed around the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) concept, which positions low-income populations not merely as recipients of development assistance but as consumers, producers, entrepreneurs, business partners, and co-creators of value. The literature has consequently moved from an initial emphasis on selling products to poor consumers toward more inclusive approaches in which firms seek to build local capabilities and integrate low-income populations into value-creation processes The literature increasingly considers multinational corporations as potential contributors to entrepreneurship development in subsistence marketplaces. Instead of treating low-income communities merely as consumers, companies can engage them as suppliers, distributors, retailers, franchisees, service providers, and business partner (London, 2009). Multinational companies can build entrepreneurship by: providing entrepreneurial training; developing local suppliers; establishing distribution networks; transferring technology and knowledge; providing access to wider markets; supporting innovation; creating micro-franchise opportunities; and partnering with governments, NGOs, banks, and local organizations. Such approaches can create what Prahalad and Hart (2002) described as opportunities at the Bottom of the Pyramid, where businesses can simultaneously address consumer needs and create economic opportunities. However, Onsongo (2019) maintains that a critical perspective is necessary. Corporate involvement can become exploitative if multinational companies use low-income markets primarily as sources of cheap labour or consumers without creating meaningful local value. Sustainable entrepreneurship therefore requires fair relationships, skills transfer, local participation, and shared value creation. Viswanathan and Rosa argue that these marketplaces need to be understood from the bottom up, taking account of the individual, social, cultural, and economic realities that shape consumption and entrepreneurship. MNCs can potentially contribute by creating market opportunities, transferring knowledge and technology, developing supply and distribution networks, providing finance and digital infrastructure, strengthening local capabilities, facilitating access to markets, and connecting local entrepreneurs to broader value chains. At the same time, the literature cautions that MNC involvement can also generate dependency, exclusion, exploitation, or value capture by the corporation itself (Prahalad, 2005).

Mobile Telecommunications and Entrepreneurial Development

Mobile telecommunications reduce the cost and time required to communicate with customers, suppliers, employees, financial institutions, and other business partners. Before widespread mobile-phone adoption, entrepreneurs in rural and low-income communities could face significant difficulties obtaining information about prices, customers, suppliers, and market opportunities. Aker and Mbiti (2010) argue that mobile phones reduce communication costs and improve access to information and markets. Their review identifies potential benefits for agricultural markets, labour markets, producers, consumers, and firms. Asongu , Nwachukwu, and Orim (2018) argue that for subsistence entrepreneurs, this can translate into: faster communication with customers; easier identification of suppliers; access to price information; reduced transportation costs; greater ability to negotiate; access to new customers; improved coordination of business activities; and opportunities to operate businesses beyond their immediate communities. Therefore, mobile telecommunications constitute not merely a communication infrastructure but potentially an entrepreneurial infrastructure. Aron (2018) found that one of the most important contributions of mobile telecommunication companies to entrepreneurship is mobile money. Mobile money allows users to send, receive, save, and make payments using mobile devices, often without requiring a conventional bank account. The literature on Sub-Saharan Africa suggests that mobile money can contribute to financial inclusion by giving financially excluded populations access to formal financial services. Ahmad (2020), in a review of the African experience, identifies mobile money as an important mechanism for financial inclusion while also noting that questions remain regarding adoption, regulation, pricing, and its relationship with conventional financial institutions. For subsistence entrepreneurs, mobile money can facilitate. Research reviewed by Nan (2021) indicates that mobile-money users in some African contexts are more likely to invest in productive assets and microbusinesses, with effects particularly visible among financially excluded populations. Thus, mobile telecommunication companies can contribute to entrepreneurship by providing financial services that reduce dependence on cash and improve entrepreneurs' ability to conduct transactions. Donner, (2007) argues that transaction costs are particularly important in subsistence marketplaces because entrepreneurs generally operate with very small profit margins. Transportation, information gathering, payment collection, and communication can consume a significant proportion of business income. Donner maintains that mobile money and mobile communication can reduce some of these costs. Studies (Donner, 2004, Donner and Escobari, 2010) specifically examining mobile money and subsistence entrepreneurship argue that mobile-money platforms can reduce transaction costs, improve business processes, increase market access, and potentially improve profit margins. Consequently, mobile telecommunication companies can contribute to entrepreneurial development by making it cheaper, faster, and easier to conduct business transactions. A review by Duncombe, (2014) reports that mobile commerce has become increasingly relevant to informal-sector entrepreneurship. A systematic review by Evans and Pirchio (2015). examined mobile-commerce interventions affecting informal businesses in developing African countries. The review identified services including mobile banking, mobile money transfers, information browsing, voice communication, and mobile payments. It reported improvements in informal-business growth across the studies reviewed. However, adoption depends on several factors. These include: affordability; awareness and knowledge; perceived usefulness; ease of use; security and trust; accessibility; financial-service availability; human capital; social influences; regulatory support; and availability of appropriate mobile services. Aker and Fafchamps (2015) remarked that this is particularly important for subsistence entrepreneurs because technological access does not automatically translate into entrepreneurial benefits. Thus, according to Asongu and Nwachukwu (2016) Entrepreneurs must also have the skills, confidence, resources, and market opportunities required to use the technology productively. A study by Esselaar, Gillwald and Stork (2007) revealed that market access is another important dimension of entrepreneurial development. According to Esselaar and colleagues, subsistence entrepreneurs frequently operate within geographically limited markets. Mobile phones can expand their market reach by allowing entrepreneurs to communicate with customers outside their immediate physical locations. For example, a farmer can use a mobile phone to contact buyers, a trader can advertise products through social media, and a small service provider can receive orders through mobile messaging. Thus, Jack and Suri (2014) maintained that mobile telecommunications therefore have the potential to transform a subsistence entrepreneur from a locally constrained seller into a participant in a wider market network. This is consistent with the broader literature showing that mobile phones connect people to information, markets, and services across Africa. Studies (Hart and Christensen. 2002), Hart and London, 2005, Isenberg, 2010) have equally revealed that access to technology alone is insufficient to build sustainable entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs need the knowledge to use markets effectively. Viswanathan, Gajendiran, and Venkatesan emphasize the importance of marketplace literacy—the practical knowledge required by low-income individuals to function effectively in the marketplace. Their work identifies marketplace know-how as an important complement to financial resources and microcredit. Thus, according to Koomson, Martey, and Etwire (2023) mobile telecommunication companies can contribute to this process through: SMS-based business education; mobile applications; digital financial-literacy programs; entrepreneurship tutorials; customer-service training; digital marketing training; mobile bookkeeping tools; and information services for farmers and traders. London and Anupindi (2012) reported that this creates a more comprehensive entrepreneurship-development model in which the company provides not simply connectivity but also knowledge and capabilities. Studies Malecki, 2018) Mas, 2010) Mazzarol, 2014) have reported that social networks are central to subsistence marketplaces. Entrepreneurs frequently rely on family, friends, neighbours, suppliers, customers, and community organizations for information and resources. Mobile phones strengthen these networks by allowing entrepreneurs to maintain relationships over greater distances and at lower cost. Viswanathan et al. (2010) demonstrate the importance of social networks in information sharing and the development of entrepreneurial skills in subsistence marketplaces. Thus Mvogo, Ndzana, and Bidiasse, (2023) maintained that mobile telecommunications can therefore strengthen: Social networks, Information sharing, Business opportunities, Customer relationships and Entrepreneurial growth. This is especially significant in communities where formal business-support institutions are weak. Asongu, Nwachukwu, and Orim (2018) found that mobile phones can have a complementary role in several dimensions of doing business, while emphasizing that improvements in governance and institutions are necessary to realize the full potential of mobile technology. According to Jahanbakht and Mostafa, (2022) this finding is important because entrepreneurship cannot be developed through telecommunications alone. Karnani, A. (2007 remarked that entrepreneurs also need: reliable electricity; roads and transport; supportive government policies; affordable internet; financial institutions; education and skills; market infrastructure; and appropriate regulation. Mobile telecommunications should therefore be considered one component of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The literature is particularly relevant to Cameroon because mobile money has become an important alternative to conventional financial services. Research (Mvogo, Ndzana and Bidiasse, 2023, Ngimanang and Ringmu 2026) examining SMEs in Douala, Cameroon, investigated the factors influencing mobile-money adoption and the types of mobile-money services used by SMEs. The study situates mobile money as a potential alternative to traditional banking for SMEs operating in less-developed financial markets. This provides an important basis for examining how mobile telecommunication companies can contribute to entrepreneurship in Cameroon's subsistence marketplaces. For example, mobile telecommunication companies can support entrepreneurs through mobile-money services, affordable data, agent networks, digital advertising, mobile commerce, agricultural information services, and partnerships with financial institutions. Although existing literature provides substantial evidence that mobile phones and mobile money can improve financial inclusion, communication, market access, and business activities, there remains a gap concerning the specific role of mobile telecommunication companies in deliberately building entrepreneurship within subsistence marketplaces .Much of the existing literature examines: mobile-phone adoption; mobile-money adoption; financial inclusion; informal businesses; digital payments; and the economic impact of telecommunications. Less attention has been devoted to examining the complete entrepreneurial-development process through which mobile telecommunication companies build entrepreneurial capabilities among low-income populations. There is therefore a need to investigate how telecommunications companies combine connectivity, mobile money, digital platforms, training, market information, agent networks, and partnerships to create sustainable entrepreneurial opportunities.

Conceptual Framework

Based on the literature, the relationship can be conceptualized as follows:

The literature therefore suggests that mobile telecommunication companies can become important catalysts of entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces when telecommunications infrastructure is combined with financial inclusion, entrepreneurial knowledge, market access, and supportive institutions

Theoretical Framework

This study draws on four complementary theoretical perspectives: Subsistence Marketplaces Theory (SMT), Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory (EET), the Resource-Based View (RBV), and Bottom-of-the-Pyramid (BOP) theory. Together, these perspectives provide a multi-level explanation of how multinational telecommunication companies can facilitate entrepreneurship in resource-constrained marketplaces.

Subsistence Marketplaces Theory

Subsistence Marketplaces Theory focuses on markets characterized by resource constraints, informal economic activities, low purchasing power, and consumers who frequently participate in the market simultaneously as consumers and producers. The theory is particularly relevant to developing-country contexts where individuals develop innovative ways of meeting their needs and generating livelihoods despite significant resource limitations (Rosa & Viswanathan 2007). According to Prahalad and Hammond (2002) the subsistence marketplace perspective shifts attention away from viewing low-income populations merely as disadvantaged consumers. Instead, it recognizes them as active marketplace participants and entrepreneurs capable of creating value under conditions of scarcity. This perspective is particularly relevant to Cameroon, where many micro-enterprises operate informally and entrepreneurs often rely on social relationships, limited financial resources, and locally available technologies. According to Suri (2017) telecommunications services can alter these conditions by providing access to information, customers, payment systems, and digital platforms. From an SMT perspective, therefore, mobile telecommunications can become an important marketplace resource. Mobile money can facilitate transactions; mobile communication can reduce information asymmetries; and digital platforms can enable entrepreneurs to communicate with customers and suppliers. Therefore, Nan (2021) remarks that telecommunications services may consequently help entrepreneurs overcome some of the constraints associated with subsistence marketplaces. However, Viswanathan, Gajendiran, and Venkatesan, (2008) reviewed that SMT also suggests that resource constraints do not disappear simply because digital technologies become available. Entrepreneurs may continue to experience low purchasing power among customers, limited capital, infrastructural deficiencies, and intense competition. The theory therefore provides a useful basis for examining both the opportunities and constraints associated with telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory

While Subsistence Marketplaces Theory explains the context in which entrepreneurship occurs, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory helps explain how entrepreneurial opportunities are created and sustained through interactions among multiple actors. An entrepreneurial ecosystem consists of interconnected actors, institutions, resources, and processes that influence entrepreneurial activity. These may include firms, entrepreneurs, financial institutions, government agencies, customers, educational institutions, technology providers, and social networks (Stam, 2015, Stam and Spigel, 2016). In the context of this study, multinational telecommunications companies occupy an important position within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. They provide technological platforms and infrastructure while simultaneously creating networks of agents, distributors, retailers, mobile-money operators, and service providers. The findings suggest that entrepreneurship does not arise solely from the individual initiative of entrepreneurs. Instead, it emerges through interactions within the telecommunications ecosystem (London, & Hart, 2004). For example, a telecommunications company provides a mobile-money platform; an agent provides access to the service within a local community; customers generate transaction demand; and the agent earns income through commissions and related services. Thus, according to Welter (2011). This relationship can be represented as: Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory therefore helps explain the relational and systemic nature of telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship. The theory also draws attention to ecosystem weaknesses. Where network coverage is unreliable, financial liquidity is inadequate, regulatory requirements are burdensome, or competition becomes excessive, the ecosystem may generate fewer sustainable entrepreneurial outcomes. Thus, entrepreneurship depends not only on the presence of a telecommunications company but also on the quality of relationships and resources within the wider ecosystem.

Resource-Based View

The Resource-Based View provides a complementary explanation of how telecommunications companies can contribute to entrepreneurial capability development. RBV argues that organisations can obtain competitive advantage through valuable resources and capabilities that are difficult to substitute or replicate (Kraaijenbrink, Spender and Groen 2010). According to Newbert (2008) although traditionally applied at the firm level, the perspective can be extended to examine how entrepreneurs gain access to resources through relationships with larger organisations. For micro-entrepreneurs in subsistence marketplaces, resources are often severely constrained. Telecommunications companies can provide access to resources that would otherwise be difficult for individual entrepreneurs to acquire. These resources include: digital platforms; telecommunications infrastructure; brand recognition; market information; customer networks; training and technical knowledge; payment technologies; distribution systems; and relationships with suppliers and other marketplace actors. A study by Barney, Ketchen and Wright, (2011) maintains that these resources can enhance entrepreneurs' ability to identify and exploit opportunities. For example, an agent affiliated with a recognised telecommunications brand may benefit from customer trust and an established technological platform without having to develop the platform independently. According to Makadok (2001), the RBV perspective therefore suggests that entrepreneurship may be strengthened when multinational companies make strategic resources available to local entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial value of telecommunications services consequently depends not only on whether entrepreneurs have access to technology, but also on whether they possess the capabilities required to convert technological resources into economic value (Newbert, S. L. (2007).

Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Theory

BOP theory provides a broader conceptual foundation for understanding the relationship between multinational enterprises and low-income markets (Prahalad and Mashelkar, 2010). The theory challenges the assumption that low-income populations represent only socially vulnerable groups and argues that they can constitute economically significant markets when firms develop appropriate products, services, and business models. (Acs, Autio, and Szerb, 2014, Ahlstrom, Bruton, and Yeh 2008). For multinational telecommunications companies, low-income consumers can represent an important market for mobile communication, mobile money, data services, and other digital products. However, the relationship can extend beyond consumption. Low-income individuals can participate as agents, distributors, retailers, entrepreneurs, and service providers within the multinational firm's market ecosystem. This distinction is important for the present study. Hammond, Kramer, Katz, Tran and Walker, 2007).A conventional BOP perspective might focus primarily on how telecommunications companies provide affordable services to low-income consumers. The present study extends this perspective by examining how multinational telecommunications companies can also facilitate productive participation by enabling low-income individuals to become entrepreneurs. Thus, the study conceptualizes BOP populations not merely as a market of consumers, but also as a market of producers and entrepreneurial partners.

Integration of the Theoretical Perspectives

The four perspectives complement rather than compete with one another. Subsistence Marketplaces Theory explains the context: entrepreneurship occurs under conditions of resource scarcity, informality, and constrained purchasing power. Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Theory explains the relationships and mechanisms: entrepreneurial opportunities emerge through interactions among telecommunications firms, entrepreneurs, customers, financial institutions, regulators, and other actors. Resource-Based View explains the resources and capabilities: telecommunications firms can provide or facilitate access to technological, informational, relational, and organisational resources that entrepreneurs can use to create value. BOP theory explains the strategic and developmental relationship between multinational enterprises and low-income populations.

Theoretical Positioning:

Based on the integrated theoretical framework, the study proposes that:

Multinational telecommunications companies contribute to entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces when their technological, financial, informational, and relational resources are embedded within supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems that enable resource-constrained individuals to identify, develop, and exploit business opportunities. The framework further proposes that the strength of this relationship is conditioned by the broader institutional and marketplace environment, including financial access, infrastructure reliability, regulatory support, digital capabilities, competition, and consumer purchasing power. Accordingly, entrepreneurship development should not be understood simply as the direct outcome of telecommunications access. Rather, it is a co-created outcome of technology, entrepreneurial capabilities, ecosystem relationships, and subsistence-marketplace conditions.

Methodology

Research Design

This study adopted a qualitative research design to explore how multinational telecommunication companies contribute to the development of entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces in Cameroon. A qualitative approach was considered appropriate because the study seeks to understand the experiences, perceptions, motivations, and practices of actors involved in telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship rather than to measure relationships among variables statistically. The study was guided by an interpretive research perspective, which assumes that entrepreneurial activities and marketplace practices are shaped by the social, economic, institutional, and technological contexts in which individuals operate. The approach enabled the researchers to examine how telecommunications companies create, facilitate, and support entrepreneurial opportunities among low-income consumers and micro-business operators.

Study Context

The research was conducted in selected urban and semi-urban areas of Cameroon where mobile telecommunications services are widely used for economic and commercial activities. Cameroon provides an appropriate context for examining entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces because a significant proportion of economic activities are undertaken by micro and informal enterprises. Mobile telecommunications have increasingly become embedded in these activities through mobile money, airtime distribution, mobile data services, digital communication, and other technology-enabled services. The study focused particularly on the activities and ecosystems associated with major multinational telecommunications operators (MTN and Orange) and their networks of agents, distributors, retailers, mobile-money operators, and other micro-entrepreneurs.

Study Population and Sampling

The study population comprised three broad categories of participants: (i) telecommunications company representatives, (ii) telecommunications agents and distributors, and (iii) micro-entrepreneurs operating in subsistence marketplaces who use telecommunications services in their businesses. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. This technique was appropriate because the study required participants with direct experience of telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurial activities. Snowball sampling was subsequently used to identify additional participants who had relevant experiences but were not easily accessible through formal channels. The final sample would consist of 40 participants.

Data Collection

Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The interview format provided sufficient structure to address the research questions while allowing participants to describe their experiences in their own words and to introduce issues that were not anticipated by the researchers. Interview questions focused on participants' experiences with telecommunications services and their contribution to entrepreneurial activities. Examples of questions included:

1. How have telecommunications services created business opportunities for you?

2. What types of entrepreneurial activities have emerged from the use of mobile telecommunications?

3. How do telecommunications companies support their agents and small-business operators?

4. What skills or resources have you acquired through your relationship with telecommunications companies?

5. What challenges do entrepreneurs face when using telecommunications services for business?

6. In what ways have mobile money and digital services changed the way you conduct your business?

Each interview lasted approximately 30–60 minutes. With participants' consent, interviews were audio-recorded and subsequently transcribed verbatim. Where interviews were conducted in French, they were translated into English during the transcription and analysis process. In addition to interviews, the study employed non-participant observation of selected telecommunications agents, mobile-money operators, and micro-businesses. Observation enabled the researchers to understand how telecommunications services were incorporated into everyday entrepreneurial practices.

Data Analysis

The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The analysis followed an iterative process involving familiarization with the data, initial coding, development of categories, identification of themes, review of themes, and interpretation of findings. First, interview transcripts were read several times to develop familiarity with participants' accounts. Second, meaningful segments of the data were assigned initial codes. Similar codes were then grouped into broader categories. Finally, relationships among categories were examined to develop themes explaining how multinational telecommunications companies contribute to entrepreneurship in subsistence marketplaces. For example, initial codes such as selling airtime, mobile-money transactions, agent commissions, data resale, and customer assistance could be grouped into broader categories such as telecommunications-enabled micro-enterprises. These categories could subsequently contribute to themes such as creation of income-generating opportunities, development of entrepreneurial capabilities, and integration of low-income consumers into digital markets. Data analysis was conducted manually or with the assistance of qualitative data-analysis software, depending on availability. The researchers continuously compared emerging themes with the research questions and the relevant literature.

Trustworthiness of the Study

The credibility and trustworthiness of the findings were enhanced through triangulation, member checking, prolonged engagement, and an audit trail. Triangulation involved comparing information obtained from different categories of participants and from interviews and observations.

Member checking was undertaken by presenting selected interpretations to participants to determine whether they accurately reflected their experiences. The researchers also maintained detailed records of the data-collection and analytical processes to enhance dependability and confirmability. To improve transferability, the study provides detailed descriptions of the research context, participants, entrepreneurial activities, and telecommunications ecosystem.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical principles were observed throughout the research process. Participants were informed about the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of their participation, and their right to withdraw at any stage without consequences. Informed consent was obtained before interviews were conducted. Participants' identities were protected by using pseudonyms or participant codes rather than their names. Information obtained during the research was treated confidentially and used solely for academic purposes. Particular care was taken when discussing participants' income, business relationships, and experiences with telecommunications companies.

Methodological Contribution

The qualitative methodology enables the study to move beyond examining telecommunications companies merely as providers of communication infrastructure. It allows the research to investigate their role as marketplace ecosystem builders and enablers of entrepreneurship. By examining the experiences of companies, agents, distributors, and micro-entrepreneurs, the study provides a contextual understanding of how telecommunications infrastructure, business models, and support mechanisms can generate entrepreneurial opportunities within subsistence marketplaces in Cameroon.

Overview of the Findings

The qualitative analysis revealed that multinational telecommunication companies contribute to entrepreneurship development in subsistence marketplaces in Cameroon through several interconnected mechanisms. Five major themes emerged from the data: (1) creation of low-entry entrepreneurial opportunities, (2) access to financial and digital infrastructure, (3) development of entrepreneurial capabilities, (4) expansion of market access and customer networks, and (5) constraints limiting the sustainability of telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship.

The findings suggest that telecommunications companies do not contribute to entrepreneurship solely by providing employment. Rather, they create marketplace ecosystems in which individuals can become agents, distributors, mobile-money operators, resellers, and providers of complementary services. These opportunities are particularly relevant to low-income entrepreneurs because they generally require relatively limited start-up capital and can be integrated with existing livelihood activities.

Creation of Low-Entry Entrepreneurial Opportunities

A dominant theme was the ability of telecommunications companies to create entrepreneurial opportunities that require relatively low levels of financial and technical resources. Participants described activities such as airtime resale, mobile-money services, SIM-card distribution, data-bundle sales, and agency operations as accessible entry points into entrepreneurship.

A participant in the Bonaberi neighborhood in the city of Douala explained:

“You do not need a big shop or a lot of money to start. If you have a small space and some capital, you can begin selling airtime and doing mobile money.”

Another participant in Bonamoussadi neighborhood in Douala noted that telecommunications activities could be combined with existing businesses:

“I started with a small kiosk where I was selling provisions. When mobile money came, I added the service. Today, the mobile-money business brings customers who also buy other things from me.”

These accounts indicate that telecommunications services can function as complementary entrepreneurial activities, allowing individuals to diversify their sources of income rather than establishing entirely new businesses. The relatively low barriers to entry were particularly important for participants operating in informal and subsistence marketplaces.

Access to Financial and Digital Infrastructure

The second theme concerned the role of telecommunications companies in expanding access to financial and digital infrastructure. Participants identified mobile-money platforms as particularly important because they enabled entrepreneurs and customers to conduct transactions without relying exclusively on conventional banking institutions.

A mobile-money agent the Mile One neighborhood in the City of Limbe stated:

“Many customers around here do not have bank accounts, but they have a phone. They can receive money, send money, pay bills, and buy airtime with the phone.”

Participants also indicated that mobile connectivity reduced some of the geographical barriers traditionally associated with business transactions. Entrepreneurs could communicate with suppliers and customers, receive payments remotely, and coordinate business activities through mobile phones.

A micro-entrepreneur in New Town, Limbe observed:

“Before, customers had to come physically with cash. Now some of them transfer the money and I send the goods. It has made business faster.”

The findings therefore suggest that telecommunications infrastructure performs an enabling function by connecting low-income entrepreneurs to financial and transactional systems that may otherwise be difficult for them to access.

Development of Entrepreneurial Capabilities

The third theme was the development of entrepreneurial capabilities. Participants reported that their engagement with telecommunications companies exposed them to new forms of business knowledge, customer management, financial management, and digital technology.

Agents described learning how to manage transaction records, monitor daily sales, interact with customers, and resolve basic technological problems. Some participants also reported developing greater confidence in managing their businesses.

As one agent in Molyko neighborhood in Buea explained:

“When I became an agent, I had to learn how to keep records and manage the money. I also learned how to deal with different types of customers.”

Another participant in Molyko, Buea stated that:

“MTN and Orange give us information about the services, and we have to explain them to customers. This has helped me understand more about digital services and business.”

These findings suggest that MTN and Orange contribute to entrepreneurship not only through the provision of technological infrastructure but also through capability development. Training, product knowledge, operational procedures, and customer interaction collectively provide entrepreneurs with skills that may be transferable to other business activities.

Expansion of Market Access and Customer Networks

A fourth theme involved the expansion of market access. Participants reported that mobile communication and digital services enabled them to reach customers beyond their immediate physical locations.

Small-business owners used mobile phones to advertise products, communicate with customers, receive orders, and arrange payments. Social media and messaging applications were also described as increasingly important tools for maintaining customer relationships.

One entrepreneur in Sokolo, Limbe explained:

“I use my phone to inform customers when new products arrive. Sometimes they send me a message and I reserve what they want before coming.”

Another participant in Church Street, Limbe described the broader effect of telecommunications connectivity:

“My customers are not only people from this area. I have people who contact me from other places like Tiko, Mutengene, Buea, and Kumba because they have my number.”

The results indicate that telecommunications services facilitate a shift from purely location-based entrepreneurship toward digitally connected entrepreneurship. Mobile connectivity allows entrepreneurs to build and maintain networks that extend beyond the immediate marketplace.

Telecommunications Companies as Marketplace Ecosystem Builders

Beyond individual business opportunities, the findings indicate that multinational telecommunications companies play a broader role in shaping entrepreneurial ecosystems. Participants described relationships among telecommunications companies, agents, distributors, retailers, mobile-money operators, and final consumers.

The ecosystem appeared to operate through interdependent relationships. Telecommunications companies (MTN and Orange) provide platforms, products, technology, and brand infrastructure; distributors and agents bring these services closer to consumers; and micro-entrepreneurs create complementary services around the telecommunications infrastructure.

One distributor in Camp Yabassi in Douala explained:

“The company cannot reach every customer directly. We are the people who bring the services to the communities.”

This finding suggests that entrepreneurship is generated not only through direct employment by telecommunications companies but through indirect and network-based opportunities. The telecommunications firm therefore acts as an orchestrator of a marketplace ecosystem in which multiple small businesses participate.

Inclusion of Previously Underserved Entrepreneurs

Another important finding concerned inclusion. Participants indicated that telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship provided opportunities for individuals who might face difficulties entering more capital-intensive sectors. Women, young people, and individuals with limited formal employment opportunities were frequently represented among agents and small-scale operators. Participants perceived telecommunications businesses as relatively accessible because they could be operated alongside other livelihood activities.

One participant in Bongo Square in Buea stated:

“For young people, it is one of the businesses you can start without waiting for a formal job.”

The findings suggest that telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship can contribute to economic inclusion by creating alternative pathways into income generation. However, the extent of this inclusion depends on access to start-up capital, location, network coverage, customer demand, and the ability to maintain sufficient transaction liquidity.

Constraints to Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Despite the positive contributions identified above, participants also reported several constraints. The most frequently mentioned challenges included limited working capital, intense competition, network interruptions, security concerns, changing commission structures, and insufficient customer purchasing power.

An Agent in Check Point, Buea emphasized that maintaining adequate cash and electronic balances could be difficult:

“Sometimes customers want to withdraw money, but you do not have enough cash. At times you have cash but not enough electronic balance.”

Competition was another concern. As more individuals entered telecommunications-related businesses, participants reported declining margins and increasing pressure to attract and retain customers.

One participant in Down Beach, Limbe observed:

“There are many agents now. You can find several of them in the same street, so the profit is no longer what it used to be.”

These findings indicate that while telecommunications companies can lower the barriers to entrepreneurial entry, they do not necessarily eliminate the structural constraints associated with subsistence marketplaces. In some cases, the ease of entry may itself contribute to market saturation and declining returns.

Summary of Emergent Themes

Overall, the findings reveal a dual effect of multinational telecommunications companies on entrepreneurship in Cameroon's subsistence marketplaces. On the positive side, telecommunications firms provide access, infrastructure, skills, networks, and entrepreneurial opportunities. On the other hand, entrepreneurs continue to face financial, technological, competitive, and institutional constraints.

The relationship can therefore be conceptualized as follows: Telecommunications infrastructure → Access to digital/financial services → Entrepreneurial capabilities → New business opportunities → Market expansion → Income-generating activities However, this pathway is moderated by factors such as access to capital, network reliability, competition, regulatory conditions, purchasing power, and the level of support provided by telecommunications companies.

The findings consequently suggest that multinational telecommunications companies can function as important entrepreneurship ecosystem builders in subsistence marketplaces, but their contribution is most sustainable when technological access is accompanied by entrepreneurial training, affordable services, reliable infrastructure, financial support, and mechanisms that enable small entrepreneurs to remain competitive.

Discussion – Theoretical and Practical implications of the findings

The findings have several implications for the literature on entrepreneurship, subsistence marketplaces, and multinational enterprises.

First, the findings extend the conceptualisation of multinational telecommunications companies from service providers to entrepreneurship ecosystem builders. Existing perspectives often emphasize the role of multinational enterprises in providing products, services, technology, and employment. The findings suggest that their role can be broader. Through agent networks, mobile-money platforms, distribution channels, digital infrastructure, and training, telecommunications companies in Cameroon create conditions within which independent entrepreneurs can emerge and operate. This suggests that multinational firms can influence entrepreneurship indirectly by structuring the marketplace in which micro-entrepreneurs participate.

Second, the findings contribute to subsistence marketplace theory by demonstrating the importance of digital infrastructure in enabling entrepreneurial activity. Subsistence marketplaces are often characterized by resource constraints, informality, limited access to finance, and weak institutional infrastructure. The results indicate that mobile telecommunications can partially overcome these constraints by providing affordable communication, digital transactions, mobile financial services, and access to customers. Consequently, digital connectivity should be considered an important component of contemporary subsistence-marketplace development.

Third, the findings extend resource-based perspectives on entrepreneurship. The results show that entrepreneurial opportunities in subsistence marketplaces do not depend exclusively on entrepreneurs' possession of financial capital. Entrepreneurs also draw upon technological resources, information, social networks, digital platforms, brand affiliation, and knowledge provided through relationships with MTN and Orange. This suggests that entrepreneurial capability in resource-constrained environments can emerge through access to an ecosystem of resources rather than through individual ownership of resources.

Fourth, the findings highlight the relational nature of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship in the studied context is not simply an individual process in which entrepreneurs independently identify and exploit opportunities. Rather, opportunities are co-created through relationships among telecommunications companies, agents, distributors, customers, suppliers, financial-service providers, and other marketplace actors. This provides support for an ecosystem perspective in which entrepreneurial outcomes emerge from interactions among multiple actors.

Fifth, the findings provide contextual insights into entrepreneurship in emerging and African markets. Much entrepreneurship research is developed from formal-market and developed-country settings. The Cameroonian context demonstrates that telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship can develop under conditions of informality, limited purchasing power, infrastructural constraints, and restricted access to conventional financial services. The findings therefore encourage greater attention to the institutional and technological conditions that shape entrepreneurship in African subsistence marketplaces.

Finally, the findings suggest that access alone is insufficient to guarantee sustainable entrepreneurship. Although telecommunications services reduce some barriers to entrepreneurial entry, competition, inadequate capital, network disruptions, low customer purchasing power, and changing profitability can constrain business sustainability. Theoretically, this implies that the relationship between digital access and entrepreneurial outcomes should be understood as conditional rather than automatic. Future studies could therefore examine the factors that moderate the conversion of digital access into sustainable entrepreneurial performance.

Practical Implications

The findings also provide important implications for telecommunications companies, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and development organisations.

For multinational telecommunications companies, the results suggest that entrepreneurship development can be incorporated more deliberately into their business strategies. Rather than viewing agents and small retailers merely as distribution channels, companies could treat them as entrepreneurial partners. This could involve providing structured business training, financial-management education, digital-skills development, marketing support, and business advisory services.

Companies could also develop tiered support programmes for micro-entrepreneurs. New agents could receive basic training and start-up assistance, while established agents could receive more advanced support in areas such as customer management, digital marketing, bookkeeping, and business expansion.

Second, telecommunications companies should improve the reliability and affordability of their digital infrastructure. Network interruptions and transaction failures directly affect the income of small entrepreneurs. Improving network reliability, transaction-processing systems, and customer support would therefore strengthen the sustainability of telecommunications-enabled businesses.

Third, telecommunications companies could develop financial mechanisms that address working-capital constraints. Many agents require sufficient cash and electronic balances to serve customers effectively. Partnerships with financial institutions could facilitate appropriate working-capital facilities or other financial solutions for qualified micro-entrepreneurs.

Fourth, policymakers should recognize telecommunications infrastructure as part of entrepreneurship-development policy. Government initiatives aimed at promoting entrepreneurship should not focus exclusively on conventional business training and financial support. Digital connectivity, mobile financial services, digital literacy, and access to telecommunications infrastructure should also be incorporated into entrepreneurship-development programs.

Fifth, policymakers should encourage an enabling regulatory environment. Regulations governing mobile money, digital businesses, taxation, agent operations, and telecommunications services should protect consumers while avoiding unnecessary barriers that disproportionately affect small entrepreneurs. A predictable regulatory environment can encourage telecommunications companies and their entrepreneurial partners to invest in long-term marketplace development.

Sixth, entrepreneurs should strategically diversify their use of telecommunications services. The findings indicate that entrepreneurs can derive greater value from telecommunications infrastructure when they use it not only for basic communication but also for digital marketing, customer relationship management, electronic payments, supplier coordination, and market expansion. Entrepreneurs should therefore view mobile technology as a business resource rather than simply as a communication tool.

Finally, development organizations and financial institutions can leverage telecommunications ecosystems to reach underserved entrepreneurs. Because telecommunications networks already connect large numbers of low-income consumers and micro-businesses, these networks can serve as channels through which entrepreneurship training, financial services, market information, and other development interventions are delivered.

Conclusion

Taken together, the findings suggest that the contribution of multinational telecommunications companies to subsistence-marketplace entrepreneurship extends beyond providing connectivity. Their platforms, distribution networks, financial technologies, knowledge resources, and relationships with local actors can facilitate the emergence and development of micro-enterprises. However, the results also demonstrate that entrepreneurial inclusion does not automatically translate into sustainable entrepreneurial success. The benefits of telecommunications-enabled entrepreneurship depend on complementary conditions, including access to finance, reliable infrastructure, entrepreneurial capabilities, supportive regulation, and sufficient market demand. The study therefore proposes a shift from viewing multinational telecommunications companies simply as technology providers toward understanding them as orchestrators of entrepreneurship ecosystems in subsistence marketplaces. This perspective provides a more comprehensive explanation of how multinational enterprises can contribute to inclusive economic development in resource-constrained environments such as Cameroon.