Informal markets enough to bring in the dough

The National Business

By PETER ESILA
PEOPLE engaged in the informal economy earn K400 to K500 a week, according to the national informal economy audit survey project 2018.
The survey, spearheaded by the Department of Youth Religion and Community Development, said about 40 per cent of men from ages 35-54 were involved in the informal sector.
Charlie Tauvi, of Koari in Central, has been selling baskets made from cane for K70, K100 and K150 outside Crowne Plaza Hotel in Port Moresby.
He said the money he got from the sales helped to put food on the table, pay for his children’s school fees and other necessities back in the village.
Tauvi has four children, three sons and a daughter.
The first and second
born are married and in the
village.
His third-born daughter is attending school in the village, while his last son is doing grade 9 at
Mt Diamond Adventist Secondary School in Koiari.
Tauvi has been selling baskets for some time now, although sometimes, he does not make a sale.
According to the survey, the informal economy:

  • Is more than just selling the of betel nut and cigarettes on the street;
  • Includes street and residential trade areas;
  • Is not small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) but rather, the launching pad for SME growth and development; and
  • is influenced by factors such as rural-urban migration, population increase, poverty, unemployment and unequal distribution of wealth.