Valued at between R750-billion and R1-trillion, the township and informal economy have become a quiet giant, keeping millions fed, employed and connected.

And yet, it remains one of the most precarious sectors of our economy. Traders navigate red tape, displacement, lack of infrastructure, unsafe conditions and limited access to finance. Nearly 60% of informal workers earn below R3 500 per month, often without access to credit, insurance, or even basic storage facilities. For too long, informal traders have been seen as survivalists rather than entrepreneurs, despite many building businesses that have sustained families and communities for decades.

If we want to redesign the future of South African cities, we must start by redesigning how we support our informal traders. In Cape Town's Bellville CBD, the metro's second-largest economic hub, more than 200 permitted informal food traders line the streets around the bustling transport interchange. Many of these traders have operated for over 20 years, with more than 150 serving nutritious, affordable meals to over 50 thousand daily commuters. There are also close to 1 000 unpermitted traders, working to put food on the table, all part of the city's economic heartbeat.

Yet their reality is fraught with challenges. Traders often work in makeshift, weather-beaten structures that are neither hygienic nor secure. They face displacement by law enforcement for non-compliance with strict bylaws, and the daily costs of assembling, dismantling, and transporting stock eat into already slim margins.

This is where Bellville is stepping forward as a living laboratory for innovation. The Greater Tygerberg Partnership (GTP), together with the South African Urban Food and Farming Trust (SAUFFT), AfriFOODlinks and design collaborators, is piloting co-designed trading prototypes, new mobile and stationary structures built to be safe, hygienic, functional and compliant.

These prototypes go beyond physical design. They are about dignity, opportunity and urban renewal. By designing weatherproof, lockable and mobile units, we can reduce the daily burden of setup and transport. They integrate with municipal water and waste systems, addressing public health concerns while allowing traders to operate in clean, sustainable environments.

By reducing conflict with law enforcement and ensuring compliance with food safety standards, these structures allow traders to focus on what they do best: running businesses that feed the city.

Most importantly, we must recognise informal traders as entrepreneurs. Many traders have been in business for over a decade, responding to market demand and contributing to a symbiotic relationship with commuters and surrounding formal businesses. With the right infrastructure, they can thrive as legitimate business operators and not merely survive on the margins.

Informal Trade as a Driver of Urban Renewal

The truth is that supporting informal traders is not charity, and the informal economy is often not well understood. It is sound urban and economic policy. The informal sector is the fifth-largest employment provider in Cape Town and a critical contributor to the national economy. By investing in its infrastructure, cities strengthen their resilience, improve food security and promote inclusive growth.

There is a renewed effort to better understand the informal sector, with deeper work under way to identify the needs of informal traders and develop environments and infrastructure that support their growth. The CoCT Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis supports the informal economy and often stresses credibility, legality and opportunity, framing informal activity as something to be integrated into the city's growth rather than suppressed.

The Bellville initiative shows that urban regeneration and informal trade are complementary as opposed to opposing forces. By providing fit-for-purpose structures, we enable informal markets to coexist with transport hubs, formal retail and public spaces in a way that is safe, efficient and mutually beneficial.

Whether in a small township market or a bustling inner-city CBD, the challenges traders face are strikingly similar, based on the GTP informal traders 2019 survey: weather proofing, storage, hygiene, ablution, security, parking and compliance. Models like this offer a replicable solution that could be adapted for Durban, Johannesburg, or even cities elsewhere on the continent.

At a national level, South Africa is already moving towards simplifying regulation, integrating digital payments and supporting SMMEs through innovative financing. By coupling these policy shifts with practical, community-driven design solutions, we can unlock the full potential of the informal economy.

The informal sector is not a problem to be managed but an opportunity to be embraced. By reimagining trading spaces, we acknowledge the crucial role informal traders play in our economy and our daily lives. We give them dignity, security and opportunity.

Bellville may be the starting point, but the vision is bigger, for a South Africa where informal traders are seen as entrepreneurs, where cities are designed to include rather than exclude, and where the informal economy is recognised not as an afterthought, but as a cornerstone of sustainable urban development.

The question is not whether we can afford to invest in informal traders. The question is whether we can afford not to.

For more information, visit www.gtp.org.za. 

*Image courtesy of www.gtp.org.za