Informal Sector

Companies

Formalisation for whom? Uganda’s boda-boda drivers find the gig economy delivers for platforms, not riders

New research finds Uganda's ride-hail platforms extract wealth from informal boda-boda drivers while offering no meaningful labour protections
Boda boda riders in Kampala
CompaniesDigital EconomyTechnology sector

SafeBoda promised safety – but its riders are under pressure to speed

At its core, the ride-hailing model, which classifies riders as independent contractors doing poorly paid 'gig work' rather than as employees earning a wage, undermines its own safety ambitions
Boda boda cyclists in Kampala, February 2020
EconomyPolitics & Policy

The World Bank and IMF are using flawed logic in their quest to do away with the informal sector

Recent reports by the World Bank and the IMF claim, wrongly, that informal economies undermine efforts to boost tax income and economic growth
Politics & Policy

Informal sector: time to pay attention to tomorrow’s biggest employer

Decision makers seem oblivious to the fact that most young people will be employed in the informal sector
Students in an introductory programming class at Outbox, an incubator, innovation lab and co-working space in Kampala
Politics & Policy

Aid helps, but ensuring stable access to affordable food is more sustainable

Governments must focus on keeping food supply chains working during Covid-19 lockdowns, and ensure that sufficient food reaches urban markets and that it remains affordable
Woman selling food in a market
HealthOpinionPolitics & Policy

The economic pain caused by Covid-19 shows we need to reshape African cities

In Africa, lockdowns to control the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak will hurt urban families -- most of who depend on informal sector jobs -- the most. Therefore, reshaping African cities in the pandemic’s aftermath to ensure they can be engines of economic growth in the future, will be key
Boda boda cyclists on a Kampala road
Economy

How coronavirus will affect the informal sector

Coronavirus is going to have a devastating impact on economies. Africa has a particular vulnerability because so many people work in the informal sector. Njeri Kinyanjui explains how this could unfold for informal labourers and whether there’s anything that can be done to support them
Vendors in a market in Uganda
EconomyPolitics & Policy

Understanding the informal sector in Kampala

The informal sector in Kampala is not black and white: it is not simply a regulatory issue and it is not a major reservoir of entrepreneurial talent. Put simply, most informal firms don’t make enough to pay tax and are unlikely to grow
Digital EconomyEconomyPolitics & Policy

High lending costs to informal sector keeping credit costs up – Kasekende

Standard Chartered's socio-economic impact report estimates that its lending supported value-added of 3.5% of GDP and almost half a million jobs in 2016