The scope and scale of the informal food economy of South African urban residential townships: Results of a small-area micro-enterprise census
Abstract
Growing urbanisation in South Africa is reflected in burgeoning
Working class and informal township settlements on the fringes of
its major towns and cities. Paired with this is an increasing
reliance on cash as the primary means of economic transaction,
which has in turn stimulated the growth of micro-enterprise
business activities within the township context. This article
discusses the findings of an eight-township small-area census
which occurred between 2010 and 2013 in Cape Town,
Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Durban townships representing
250 000 residents. The researchers were able to establish the
scope and scale of informal food and drink retailing in these
localities. Of the 10 049 micro-enterprises located in the study,
some 3966 (or 39% of the total) trade in food. These include
enterprises in primary production, fresh produce retailing,
grocery retailing from house and spaza shops, and informal
foodservice enterprises. Food is the basis for much township
informal business and plays an important role in making food
increasingly affordable and locally accessible, and in creating
cash employment. The article builds on the knowledge base of
the township informal economy role in bolstering food security
needs for the marginalised.