First light pours over Harare’s cracked sidewalks, and a kaleidoscope of makeshift stalls springs to life. For instance, a woman arranges tomatoes with the precision of a surgeon, while a teenager strings phone chargers across a clothesline like a neon lit garland.
Consequently, the daily tableau is not merely a picture of informal commerce; it is a living illustration of an economy driven by survival rather than growth.
In a country, where nearly 70% of the population lives in abject poverty, the struggle for survival is a daily reality for millions. With many individuals surviving on less than a dollar a day, the urgent need for strategic interventions to address the entrenched poverty and widening income gap has never been more critical.
The complexity of this issue is compounded by stagnating agricultural productivity, which has failed to keep pace with advancements in urban sectors.
As a result, rural dwellers, who heavily depend on agriculture, have seen their incomes dwindle in comparison to their urban counterparts.
This economic disconnect drives a relentless migration of the rural poor towards cities, where the hope of better opportunities often collides with the harsh realities of urban living.
Decades of fiscal mismanagement and hyperinflation have stripped the Zimbabwean dollar of any real value. As a result ,a savings account that held ZW $100 a year ago now buys a single loaf of bread. “I don’t save money,” says a 42 year old tailor who rents a tiny stall at Mbare Musika. “Each day, I earn, I eat, I sleep. Saving is a dream for someone in another country.”
Dual currency reality deepens the dilemma subsequently, the US dollar circulates alongside the local currency ZiG, creating a fragile parallel economy in which prices swing wildly.
Because of this, long term planning feels futile; households adopt a hand to mouth rhythm, spending earnings the moment they are received and leaving no buffer for medical emergencies, school fees, or sudden utility cuts.
Without capital, aspiring entrepreneurs cannot seed new ventures, and the formal sector offers little refuge. First, bureaucratic red tape delays licences for months, while arbitrary levies—often collected unofficially—inflate operating costs. Second, political risk deters skilled workers: “I trained as a plumber, but I don’t open a shop. They’ll shut me down in a week,” says, a 33 year old father of three, citing corrupt inspections and sudden regulatory changes.
Consequently, over 90 % of Harare’s workforce now earns a living in the informal sector, isolated from the networks, mentorship, and financing that could catalyse growth elsewhere.
Next, the city’s physical fabric reflects chronic under investment. Roads are riddled with potholes that swallow tires, raising vehicle repair costs and delaying goods delivery.
Water and power systems burst nightly, forcing businesses to rely on costly generators or water tankers.
Unfinished developmental projects that never materialise leave vacant lots where shops could thrive. Thus, the sameness of the urban landscape breeds a collective expectation that “nothing will change,” eroding civic optimism.
In other African capitals, cooperatives, micro finance syndicates, and sectoral “guilds” provide collective bargaining power. In contrast, Harare’s vendors pay bribes merely to avoid harassment rather than for services; price volatility spikes on rumors, weather, or the whims of a single middleman; and shared knowledge is scarce. “We don’t compete. We survive,” admits a shoe vendor near the city centre.
Nevertheless, ingenuity blossoms amid adversity. First, bartering networks exchange salt for maize, second hand clothing for transport fees. Second, scrap metal tools, solar powered phone charging stations, bicycles repurposed as mobile stalls emerge from necessity. Third, digital outreach via WhatsApp groups facilitates bulk purchases of bread, fresh produce, and fabric.
The informal economy has exploded over the last twenty years, with recent estimates indicating that 85 90 % of the population now earn their livelihoods outside the formal labour market. This surge is rooted in a perfect storm of macro economic pressures: soaring inflation, meagre wages in the formal sector, and restrictive foreign exchange controls that choke legitimate business activity.
Yet the sector’s rapid expansion has been accompanied by a striking degree of resilience. Informal entrepreneurs have turned to inventive marketing tactics, tapped into cross border trade networks, and harnessed information communication technologies to streamline operations and boost profits.
Many of today’s informal firms now offer a diversified portfolio of goods and services that can rival those of their formal sector counterparts, signaling an increasing level of sophistication.
A deteriorating business climate has been a principal catalyst for this shift. Endemic corruption, erratic monetary policy, and an onerous tax regime have forced countless enterprises to retreat into the shadows simply to stay afloat.
Despite these hurdles, the informal sphere has become a hotbed of creativity and entrepreneurship: resourceful marketers and product innovators are carving out niche markets, proving that even in a hostile environment, ingenuity can thrive.
Despite its many challenges, Zimbabwe's informal sector has also proven to be a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Through creative marketing strategies and innovative product offerings, informal entrepreneurs have managed to carve out a niche for themselves in the market.
Harare’s streets are more than thoroughfares; they are living archives of human endurance. Each cracked sidewalk, each unlicensed stall, and each child watching a market vendor tells a story of loss, creativity, and quiet resistance. The “economics of survival” narrative underscores that dignity and agency can thrive even under the most constrained circumstances—but survival alone is not a sustainable development goal.
As one elder vendor summed up: “We are not asking to be heroes. We are asking for a chance.” For professionals, investors, and policymakers alike, the challenge now is to transform that chance into a concrete pathway for collective prosperity where resilience is the foundation for growth, not the limit of it.
However, these practices risk normalising a “creative suffering” mindset that lets systemic failures persist unchallenged. As a young seamstress, observes, “They call us entrepreneurs, but what kind of enterprise is it when I live in fear every day? This is not entrepreneurship. It’s survival masquerading as progress.”
Experts, NGOs, and local activists converge on a concise reform agenda:
- Re establish confidence in the Zimbabwean dollar through transparent monetary policy, reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar and curbing inflation.
- Prioritise road rehabilitation, reliable electricity, and water distribution; public private partnerships and climate resilient designs can accelerate delivery.
- Provide low cost licensing, micro credit lines, and vocational training; create vendor cooperatives that can negotiate collectively and access markets.
- Replace punitive enforcement with participatory budgeting and local oversight committees, building trust between citizens and authorities.
In summary, Harare’s streets are more than thoroughfares; they are living archives of human endurance.
Each cracked sidewalk, each unlicensed stall, and each child watching a market vendor tells a story of loss, creativity, and quiet resistance. While the “economics of survival” narrative demonstrates that dignity and agency can thrive even under the most constrained circumstances, survival alone cannot constitute a sustainable development goal.
Therefore, professionals, investors, and policymakers must now transform the chance that the city’s elders request into a concrete pathway for collective prosperity where resilience becomes the foundation for growth rather than its limit.
*Nyawo is development practitioner, writer and public speaker.
These weekly articles are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge, an independent consultant, managing consultant of Zawale Consultants (Private) Limited, past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society) and past president of the Chartered Governance &Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe (CGAIZ). Email – kadenge.zes@gmail.com or Mobile No. +263 772 382 852