In African countries, the informal sector is an important provider of goods and services to locals in urban and rural areas.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says in Africa close to 83% of jobs and 85% in sub-Saharan Africa are informal.
Following the hosting of a policy dialogue event in 2022 at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the UNDP, supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), compiled a report reflecting that most of young Africans seeking jobs are absorbed by the informal sector.
The UNDP highlighted two shortcomings by the governments of African countries when it comes to recognising the significant wealth and job creation role of an informal sector.
The first is to ignore the informal sector when drafting development policies and strategising on crafting and implementation of development interventions.
The second is that countries view the informal sector as a potential threat to the formal economy.