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Faculty of Management Sciences

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Informal Sector

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    Review of the lockdown regulations’ impact on informal businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (Durban University of Technology, 2023) Cele, Zamaswazi; Tshikovhi, Ndivhuho
    Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown regulations caused enormous changes in all business sectors because many businesses were not allowed to operate. Only a few were regarded as essential businesses, such as pharmacies and grocery shops, and allowed to operate. Lockdown regulations negatively affected the South African informal sector. As a result, it is difficult to provide accurate statistics on the entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are no official statistics from the informal sector. This paper aims to examine how the informal sector was affected by the lockdown down restrictions within South Africa. The paper adopts a systematic review methodology using Google Scholar and Web of Science or Scopes to search for articles on informal entrepreneurship, COVID-19, and South Africa to draw a conclusion from the analysed data. The findings indicated that most of the businesses in the informal sector were negatively affected, including workers because some of them lost their jobs and others did not receive their usual salaries due to limited working hours. There were disruptions in the supply chain and pricing of goods and services, and people could not have sustained their income during the lockdown in South Africa. In conclusion, the informal sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors that lacks access to appropriate risk management structures, and most people live on a hand to mouth basis. COVID-19 has negatively affected the informal sector, mainly through distribution and marketing systems.
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    Exploring the motives for operating in Ghana's informal slum sector
    (2019) Zogli, Luther-King Junior; Lawa, Emmanuel; Dlamini, Bongani Innocent; Kabange, Martin Mulunda
    Abstract: In the developing world, slums house a sizeable amount of the urban population and most slum inhabitants are engaged in informal activities. In Sub Sahara African countries this sector has historically contributed above 50% to non-agricultural Gross Value Added. Informal sector activities in Ghanaian slums employ a substantial amount of people, who on average earn about $8 a day, a figure which is above the poverty threshold of $2 a day. Most of these slum activity operators reside in slums whereas a sizable amount reside in formal housing, a phenomenon which has led to the growth of Ghanaian urban slums. To assist these slum operators to grow and someday integrate into the formal sector, it is important to find out the factors that motivated them to engage in these activities in the first place. The study employed Exploratory Factor Analysis, on a sample of 344 drawn from the two biggest slums (Sodom & Gomorrah and Akwatia Line) in Ghana’s two major cities, Accra and Kumasi respectively. The results show a set of six clusters, explaining 61% of the variation in motives for slum activities. The avoidance of government regulation was found as the main motive for one’s involvement in slum activities. Other driving forces include the ‘luxury’ of working at one’s own time, making use of one’s talents and family relations, as well as the quest for earning a higher income