Nathanael Ojong
Assistant Professor
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.
His research analyses the complex social, cultural, and economic forces that are influencing the adoption, use, acceptance and diffusion or rejection of off-grid solar technologies in sub-Saharan 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. He argues that the discourse of lifting those living without electricity out of energy poverty obscures the location-specific social relations and institutional processes that produce and reproduce poverty, inequality, and marginality.
Prior to this project, his previous book, The Everyday Life of the Poor in Cameroon: The role of social networks in meeting needs (Routledge 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. Earlier published work encompassed urban livelihoods, informal finance, informal economies, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, healthcare financing, social and solidarity economy, and social protection. Dr. Ojong’s work has appeared in leading journals such as Energy Research & Social Science, Journal of Business Research, Sustainability, and Third World Quarterly.
He is a member of the Knowledge Network of African Experts established by the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa to shape policy in Africa.
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:
Journal of Rural Studies
Journal of Business Research
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
International Quarterly of Community Health Education
Forum for Development Studies
Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance
Healthcare
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
SN Business & Economics
Research Interests
(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 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.
(with Fonteneau B et al. ) Social and Solidarity Economy: Our common road towards Decent Work. Reader for the Social & Solidarity Economy Academy 2011. Turin: International Labour Organization.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2021 | AP/SOSC2800 6.0 | B | Development: Comp. & Hist. Perspective | REMT |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2021 | AP/SOSC2800 6.0 | B | Development: Comp. & Hist. Perspective | REMT |
| Winter 2022 | 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.
His research analyses the complex social, cultural, and economic forces that are influencing the adoption, use, acceptance and diffusion or rejection of off-grid solar technologies in sub-Saharan 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. He argues that the discourse of lifting those living without electricity out of energy poverty obscures the location-specific social relations and institutional processes that produce and reproduce poverty, inequality, and marginality.
Prior to this project, his previous book, The Everyday Life of the Poor in Cameroon: The role of social networks in meeting needs (Routledge 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. Earlier published work encompassed urban livelihoods, informal finance, informal economies, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, healthcare financing, social and solidarity economy, and social protection. Dr. Ojong’s work has appeared in leading journals such as Energy Research & Social Science, Journal of Business Research, Sustainability, and Third World Quarterly.
He is a member of the Knowledge Network of African Experts established by the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa to shape policy in Africa.
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:
Journal of Rural Studies
Journal of Business Research
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
International Quarterly of Community Health Education
Forum for Development Studies
Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance
Healthcare
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
SN Business & Economics
Research Interests
All Publications
(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 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.
(with Fonteneau B et al. ) Social and Solidarity Economy: Our common road towards Decent Work. Reader for the Social & Solidarity Economy Academy 2011. Turin: International Labour Organization.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2021 | AP/SOSC2800 6.0 | B | Development: Comp. & Hist. Perspective | REMT |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2021 | AP/SOSC2800 6.0 | B | Development: Comp. & Hist. Perspective | REMT |
| Winter 2022 | GS/DVST5120 3.0 | M | Research Methods for Development | SEMR |
