Informal Sector Entrepreneurs and Protection of Innovation in Burkina Faso: Between Profitability Imperative and Values of Altruism

While the protection of intellectual property is usually considered as a key issue for the innovative entrepreneur, the research analyses the low level of interest in formal innovation protection among entrepreneurs in the informal sector. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs-innovators from the informal sector in Burkina Faso. The findings show that prevailing scepticism about the ability of formal titles to avoid imitation leads informal sector entrepreneur-innovators to prefer informal protection or collective invention. In addition to enabling the entrepreneur-innovator to profit from his or her innovative work, some informal approaches do not call into question the altruism that underpins social life in the informal sector. Other informal approaches provide better protection for innovation against imitation, but have the disadvantage of compromising solidarity within the community. Collective invention is compatible with the altruism that characterizes frugal innovation and social relations in the informal sector.