Nathanael Ojong
Assistant Professor
African Studies (AFST) and International Development Studies (IDS)
Office: 324 Founders College
Phone: 4167362100 Ext: 22866
Email: nojong@yorku.ca
Media Requests Welcome
Accepting New Graduate Students
Dr. Ojong is Assistant Professor of International Development Studies and Deputy Director of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas at York University. He is Associate Editor of the journal Sustainable Development, Associate Editor of Energy Exploration & Exploitation, and is a member of the Knowledge Network of African Experts established by the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa to help shape economic and social policy in Africa.
His work encompasses renewable energy technologies and electricity capitalism, energy and sustainability, urban and rural livelihoods, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, informal economies, social determinants of health, and social protection in Africa. His current SSHRC-funded research investigates how privately owned off-grid solar providers in sub-Saharan Africa serve as vehicles for the expansion of financial markets by connecting low-income populations to financial infrastructure for consumer credit and debt.
Dr. Ojong is the editor of Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective (2022), which examines how political, economic, institutional, and social forces shape the adoption of off-grid solar technologies in Africa, including how injustices are manifested at different levels and spaces. His other book, The Everyday Life of the Poor in Cameroon: The role of social networks in meeting needs (2020), proposed a rethinking of how we understand poverty by revealing how low-income populations navigate different spaces and use social networks to meet everyday needs. He showed how social networks enabled low-income populations to meet their needs while remaining sites of power and agency, embedded in economic, socio-cultural, and gendered dynamics. His work has appeared in journals such as Nature Energy, Energy Research & Social Science, Journal of Rural Studies, and Journal of Business Research.
Degrees
Ph.D., Development Studies, Graduate Institute of International & Development StudiesM.A., Development Management, University of Westminster
B.A. (Hons.), Political Science, University of Buea
Appointments
Faculty of Graduate StudiesProfessional Leadership
Manuscript reviewing for journals:
Resource Policy
Sustainable Development
Journal of Rural Studies
Energy Research & Social Science
Journal of Business Research
Sociological Forum
Frontiers in Public Health
American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
BMC Public Health
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
International Quarterly of Community Health Education
Journal of Asian and African Studies
Healthcare
Progress in Environmental Geography
Canadian Journal of Development Studies
World Development Sustainability
Forum for Development Studies
Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance
Telecommunications Policy
African Review of Economics and Finance
Journal of Trust Research
Forum for Social Economics
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship
SN Business & Economics
AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples
International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies
Research Interests
(with Fonteneau B et al. ) Social and Solidarity Economy: Our common road towards Decent Work. Reader for the Social & Solidarity Economy Academy 2011. International Labour Organization.
'Energy Justice and Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: Trends, Narratives and Contestations', In: Ojong, N (ed.) Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan Cham: London
'Off-Grid Solar Electrification on the Rise in Africa, but Where to?', In: Ojong, N (ed.) Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan Cham: London
(With Cochrane L). ‘Public Policy and Social Protection in Africa: The Rise of Cash Transfers’, In: Onyango, G (ed.) Routledge Handbook of Public Policy in Africa, UK, Abingdon, Routledge.
'The Dark Side of the Sun: Solar Home Systems and Their Injustices in Africa', In: Ojong, N (ed.) Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan Cham: London
(with Simba A) ‘Diaspora networks: a social capital source for entrepreneurship in low-income and emerging economies’, In: Hack-Polay D., Siwale J. (eds) African Diaspora Direct Investment. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Microcredit's Real Revolution [La vraie révolution du microcrédit]. African Review of Economics and Finance, 9(1), 293 -296.
(with Nchofoung, T). Natural resources, renewable energy, and governance: A path towards sustainable development. Sustainable Development https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2466
(Ofori, K & Figari, F). Towards sustainability: The relationship between foreign direct investment, economic freedom and inclusive green growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Cleaner Production, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137020
(with Gill-Wiehl, A). “A lender should not know where you live”: Financial precarity, debt, and everyday life in rural Malawi and Tanzania. Journal of Rural Studies, 97, 314-321.
Energizing entrepreneurship. Nature Energy 7: 392–393
Fostering Human Wellbeing in Africa through Solar Home Systems: A Systematic and a Critical Review. Sustainability 14(14): 8382
(with Ofori I. K and Gbolonyo E) Towards inclusive green growth in Africa: Critical energy efficiency synergies and governance thresholds. Journal of Cleaner Production, 369, 132917
(with Simba A and Dana L-P) Female entrepreneurship in Africa: A review, trends, and future research directions. Journal of Business Research 132: 233–248
Solar Home Systems in South Asia: Examining Adoption, Energy Consumption, and Social Practices. Sustainability 13(14): 7754.
The rise of solar home systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Examining gender, class, and sustainability. Energy Research & Social Science 75: 102011
(with Simba A and Kuk G) Bricolage and MSEs in emerging economies. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1177/1465750320969621
Indigenous land rights: where are we today and where should the research go in the future? Settler Colonial Studies 10(2): 193-215.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Pathology of the Economic and Political Architecture in Cameroon. Healthcare, 8(2): 1-16.
(with Simba A) Fostering micro-entrepreneurs' structural and relational social capital through microfinance. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 31(1), 1-20.
Healthcare Financing in Rural Cameroon. Societies 9(4), 1-12
Informal borrowing sources and uses: insights from the North West Region,
Cameroon. Third World Quarterly, 40:9, 1730-1749
Trust, cultural norms and financial institutions in rural communities. Review of Social Economy, 76(1), 19-42.
(with Simba A) Trust-Building Mechanisms in Group-Based Microfinance: A Cameroonian Perspective. Forum for Social Economics, DOI:10.1080/07360932.2018.1479648
(with Obeng-Odoom F) Dynamism and resilience of financial institutions in Cameroon. Journal of Economic Issues, 51(1), 181-200.
(with Simba A) Engaged scholarship: encouraging interactionism in entrepreneurship and small-to-medium enterprise (SME) research. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(4), 1009-1027.
Gender, the state, and informal self-employment: Perspectives from the mobile telecommunication industry in Cameroon. International Journal of Social Economics, 44(11), 1456-1470.
Remittances, mobile phones and informality: Insights from Cameroon. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 8:3: 299-308.
Credit unions as conduits for microfinance delivery in Cameroon. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 85(2): 287–304.
Les fragilités de la microfinance au Cameroun. Techniques Financières et Développement, 106, 71-78.
Livelihood Strategies in African Cities: The case of residents in Bamenda, Cameroon. African Review of Economics and Finance, 3(1), 8-24.
Social Finance for Social Economy, Working Paper No. 67, Social Finance Program, International Labour Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/SOSC2800 6.0 | A | Development: Comp. & Hist. Perspective | SEMR |
| Winter 2024 | GS/DVST5120 3.0 | M | Research Methods for Development | SEMR |
Dr. Ojong is Assistant Professor of International Development Studies and Deputy Director of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas at York University. He is Associate Editor of the journal Sustainable Development, Associate Editor of Energy Exploration & Exploitation, and is a member of the Knowledge Network of African Experts established by the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa to help shape economic and social policy in Africa.
His work encompasses renewable energy technologies and electricity capitalism, energy and sustainability, urban and rural livelihoods, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, informal economies, social determinants of health, and social protection in Africa. His current SSHRC-funded research investigates how privately owned off-grid solar providers in sub-Saharan Africa serve as vehicles for the expansion of financial markets by connecting low-income populations to financial infrastructure for consumer credit and debt.
Dr. Ojong is the editor of Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective (2022), which examines how political, economic, institutional, and social forces shape the adoption of off-grid solar technologies in Africa, including how injustices are manifested at different levels and spaces. His other book, The Everyday Life of the Poor in Cameroon: The role of social networks in meeting needs (2020), proposed a rethinking of how we understand poverty by revealing how low-income populations navigate different spaces and use social networks to meet everyday needs. He showed how social networks enabled low-income populations to meet their needs while remaining sites of power and agency, embedded in economic, socio-cultural, and gendered dynamics. His work has appeared in journals such as Nature Energy, Energy Research & Social Science, Journal of Rural Studies, and Journal of Business Research.
Degrees
Ph.D., Development Studies, Graduate Institute of International & Development StudiesM.A., Development Management, University of Westminster
B.A. (Hons.), Political Science, University of Buea
Appointments
Faculty of Graduate StudiesProfessional Leadership
Manuscript reviewing for journals:
Resource Policy
Sustainable Development
Journal of Rural Studies
Energy Research & Social Science
Journal of Business Research
Sociological Forum
Frontiers in Public Health
American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
BMC Public Health
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
International Quarterly of Community Health Education
Journal of Asian and African Studies
Healthcare
Progress in Environmental Geography
Canadian Journal of Development Studies
World Development Sustainability
Forum for Development Studies
Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance
Telecommunications Policy
African Review of Economics and Finance
Journal of Trust Research
Forum for Social Economics
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship
SN Business & Economics
AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples
International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies
Research Interests
All Publications
'Energy Justice and Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: Trends, Narratives and Contestations', In: Ojong, N (ed.) Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan Cham: London
'Off-Grid Solar Electrification on the Rise in Africa, but Where to?', In: Ojong, N (ed.) Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan Cham: London
(With Cochrane L). ‘Public Policy and Social Protection in Africa: The Rise of Cash Transfers’, In: Onyango, G (ed.) Routledge Handbook of Public Policy in Africa, UK, Abingdon, Routledge.
'The Dark Side of the Sun: Solar Home Systems and Their Injustices in Africa', In: Ojong, N (ed.) Off-Grid Solar Electrification in Africa: A Critical Perspective, Palgrave Macmillan Cham: London
(with Simba A) ‘Diaspora networks: a social capital source for entrepreneurship in low-income and emerging economies’, In: Hack-Polay D., Siwale J. (eds) African Diaspora Direct Investment. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Microcredit's Real Revolution [La vraie révolution du microcrédit]. African Review of Economics and Finance, 9(1), 293 -296.
(with Fonteneau B et al. ) Social and Solidarity Economy: Our common road towards Decent Work. Reader for the Social & Solidarity Economy Academy 2011. International Labour Organization.
(with Nchofoung, T). Natural resources, renewable energy, and governance: A path towards sustainable development. Sustainable Development https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2466
(Ofori, K & Figari, F). Towards sustainability: The relationship between foreign direct investment, economic freedom and inclusive green growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Cleaner Production, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137020
(with Gill-Wiehl, A). “A lender should not know where you live”: Financial precarity, debt, and everyday life in rural Malawi and Tanzania. Journal of Rural Studies, 97, 314-321.
Energizing entrepreneurship. Nature Energy 7: 392–393
Fostering Human Wellbeing in Africa through Solar Home Systems: A Systematic and a Critical Review. Sustainability 14(14): 8382
(with Ofori I. K and Gbolonyo E) Towards inclusive green growth in Africa: Critical energy efficiency synergies and governance thresholds. Journal of Cleaner Production, 369, 132917
(with Simba A and Dana L-P) Female entrepreneurship in Africa: A review, trends, and future research directions. Journal of Business Research 132: 233–248
Solar Home Systems in South Asia: Examining Adoption, Energy Consumption, and Social Practices. Sustainability 13(14): 7754.
The rise of solar home systems in sub-Saharan Africa: Examining gender, class, and sustainability. Energy Research & Social Science 75: 102011
(with Simba A and Kuk G) Bricolage and MSEs in emerging economies. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1177/1465750320969621
Indigenous land rights: where are we today and where should the research go in the future? Settler Colonial Studies 10(2): 193-215.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Pathology of the Economic and Political Architecture in Cameroon. Healthcare, 8(2): 1-16.
(with Simba A) Fostering micro-entrepreneurs' structural and relational social capital through microfinance. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 31(1), 1-20.
Healthcare Financing in Rural Cameroon. Societies 9(4), 1-12
Informal borrowing sources and uses: insights from the North West Region,
Cameroon. Third World Quarterly, 40:9, 1730-1749
Trust, cultural norms and financial institutions in rural communities. Review of Social Economy, 76(1), 19-42.
(with Simba A) Trust-Building Mechanisms in Group-Based Microfinance: A Cameroonian Perspective. Forum for Social Economics, DOI:10.1080/07360932.2018.1479648
(with Obeng-Odoom F) Dynamism and resilience of financial institutions in Cameroon. Journal of Economic Issues, 51(1), 181-200.
(with Simba A) Engaged scholarship: encouraging interactionism in entrepreneurship and small-to-medium enterprise (SME) research. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 24(4), 1009-1027.
Gender, the state, and informal self-employment: Perspectives from the mobile telecommunication industry in Cameroon. International Journal of Social Economics, 44(11), 1456-1470.
Remittances, mobile phones and informality: Insights from Cameroon. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 8:3: 299-308.
Credit unions as conduits for microfinance delivery in Cameroon. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 85(2): 287–304.
Les fragilités de la microfinance au Cameroun. Techniques Financières et Développement, 106, 71-78.
Livelihood Strategies in African Cities: The case of residents in Bamenda, Cameroon. African Review of Economics and Finance, 3(1), 8-24.
Social Finance for Social Economy, Working Paper No. 67, Social Finance Program, International Labour Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/SOSC2800 6.0 | A | Development: Comp. & Hist. Perspective | SEMR |
| Winter 2024 | GS/DVST5120 3.0 | M | Research Methods for Development | SEMR |
