This
is
according
to
the
results
of
the
country’s
first
economic
census,
which
present
a
striking
picture
of
how
pervasive
the
informal
economy
has
become.
Informal
businesses
in
the
Southern
African
country
have
now
“increasingly
become
a
significant
source
of
livelihoods,
its
contribution
to
government
revenue
remains
minimal
due
to
non-compliance
with
the
formal
tax
system,”
the
Zimbabwe
National
Statistics
Agency
said
in
a
report
released
on
Wednesday.
According
to
the
country’s
most
prevalent
industry
body,
the
Confederation
of
Zimbabwe
Industries,
the
situation
poses
a
“critical
risk”
to
the
country’s
economy.
“Formal
businesses
are
being
squeezed,”
MacDonald
Mutengo,
CZI’s
lead
research
officer,
said
at
the
event.
“Companies
are
not
making
profits,
they
are
highly
regulated.”
The
informal
sector’s
expansion
is
mostly
a
reaction
to
the
loss
of
official
job
prospects
brought
on
by
decades
of
economic
mismanagement,
hyperinflation,
and
periodic
currency
depreciations,
as
seen
on Bloomberg.
According
to
the
economic
census,
which
surveyed
over
204,798
businesses,
wholesale
and
retail
trade
accounts
for
73%
of
the
informal
economy’s
activity.
Manufacturing
trailed
behind
at
8%.
Bulawayo
has
the
largest
concentration
of
formal
enterprises
among
Zimbabwe’s
provinces,
at
40%,
significantly
outpacing
other
areas
where
the
formal
sector
make
up
less
than
30%
of
the
local
market.
The
growth
of
the
informal
sector
in
other
African
markets
market
Based
on
a
2024
report
by
the
Kenya
National
Bureau
of
Statistics
(KNBS),
the
informal
sector
employs
83.6%
of
the
workforce,
or
approximately
17.4
million
people.
Notably,
the
informal
sector
created
703,700
new
jobs,
accounting
for
90%
of
all
new
employment
outside
of
small-scale
agriculture.
In
Nigeria,
the
informal
sector
is
also
dominant.
According
to
Moniepoint’s
Informal
Economy
report,
89.4%
of
Micro,
Small,
and
Medium
Enterprises
(MSMEs)
do
business
informally.
However,
unlike
with
Zimbabwe,
an
impressive 89%
of
these
informal
enterprises allegedly
pay
some
type
of
tax,
suggesting
that
taxing
of
this
section
is
possible
if
properly
handled.