A delicate duty: Revamping Nigeria’s large but unproductive informal sector

It is difficult to conjure up a single image of the informal economy.

You could have sellers who display their wares in the busy markets in Idumota; or self-employed yam farmers in Benue, and even Mom & Pop shops you might find outside some homes in Port-Harcourt.

Every single participant in this part of the economy makes up the informal sector. Regardless of where you live or work, you interact with them—the fashion industry, agriculture and even the finance sector (with the Alajos who collect money from people and thrift societies who come together for a common goal).

I mean, over 70% of the grocery retailing industry in Nigeria is informal.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the informal economy makes up over 90% of micro and small enterprises globally. It employs more than half of the labour force in the world. In Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)