The Role of Social Capital in the Development Strategy of Territorial Communities

In a context of crisis and endemic violence, social capital has fundamental importance and is at the heart of the solidarity strategies that inhabitants develop to survive. This form of social organization can become a real advantage. Thus, it is not surprising to see the role assigned to an asset such as social capital in development strategies, particularly those implemented by territorial communities. This study aims to determine the variables that also explain the level of social capital in the Logbogbo zone in Ivory Coast. The study shows that social mobility and gender are socio-demographic variables that determine the mobilization of social capital in the surveyed zone. Social capital promotes the development of the community through collaboration, resource exchange, mutual support, and risk reduction. For local policymakers, economic actors, and development agencies, having well-populated management developed at the level of the zones is therefore an advantage in trying to change the mentalities and individual logics that are gradually transforming from the local to the universal. Above all, this study is a pilot project whose results should be confirmed more broadly and which should lead to a proposal for promoting the development of sustainable social capital in Nigeria.