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South Africa’s informal economy is becoming a giant | SA News

From roadside food sellers to the huge backyard rental and taxi industries, hope is rising

28 August 2025 – 05:00

by Adele Shevel

It’s the woman selling chicken feet and mealies at the side of the road. The man offering windscreen licence holders at your car window. The backyard landlord collecting rent. It’s the home baker supplying cakes to a neighbourhood store in the suburbs — and renting out a spare room. Cumulatively, we’re talking about billions of rand flowing through the system.

This is the informal economy — underestimated but undeniably significant. While official figures suggest it contributes about 6%-10% of South Africa’s GDP, many…

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  1. Droewors – dried sausage [droo-ah-vors] A term used to describe a dried sausage, very similar to biltong or the German bratwurst or mettwurst.

  2. Fun South African Fact: Lions, elephants and giraffes may not roam the city streets, but nature and animals are never too far away in South Africa. From vervet monkeys swinging through tree-lined streets in the suburbs and baboons frolicking around Cape Point to seals visiting the Hout Bay harbour in search of a fishy snack and an array of bird species taking to the sky at any given moment. Wildlife is all around!