Chapter 5: Socio-cultural and religious contexts of international trade in Lesotho

A country’s socio-cultural and religious contexts can be significant factors for the success of international trade. Lesotho is endowed with various forms of material and non-material culture, which give the country a rich cultural heritage. The chapter explores the components of the Sesotho culture as well as the religious contexts of Lesotho. In addition, the chapter explores how the socio-cultural and religious contexts of Lesotho aid or hamper international trade. Purposive sampling, a non-probability sampling technique, was employed to select 10 research participants: higher education institution educators, village chiefs and leaders of religious institutions located in the Maseru district of Lesotho. The chapter findings reveal that Lesotho’s culture offers great opportunities for international traders to thrive in Lesotho for their business engagements.

Furthermore, Lesotho is predominantly a Christian country, in which some Basotho engage in a blended type of worship, mixing Christianity and African traditions. International trade has the potential to spur growth and generate employment, resulting in an overall improvement in the living conditions of citizens in Lesotho. This chapter argues that cultural homogeneity creates a conducive environment for international trade. The chapter further argues that religious homogeneity ensures stability, which has positive implications for international trade. This chapter significantly contributes to the literature by characterising the socioeconomic and religious contexts of Lesotho and proffers policy implications for advancing economic growth in general and international trade in particular.