Dear Colleagues,
We take great pleasure in inviting you to our upcoming event and study launch "Working in the Shadows" on informal employment in sub-Saharan Africa on 28 September 2022, jointly hosted by ILO, IDOS and FES in Berlin.
Informal labour plays a vital role in African economies and societies. In most African countries, between 80 and 95 per cent of the working population make a living working in the informal economy. Informality thus shapes how people live and how they interact with the state. People working and living in informality have less access to public services than people earning their income in the formal economy. They seldom benefit from state social protection and are not protected by labour and social legislation. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened and will deteriorate even more the conditions of many Africans living in informality.
Despite the crucial role of informal labour for African economies and societies only few empirical data exist on the subject. It was back in 2017 when representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) together with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) decided to join forces to help closing this gap. Beginning from 2018 the collaborative research project "Informal Employment, Social Security and Political Trust in sub-Saharan Africa" surveyed thousands of households in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire Ethiopia, Kenia, Senegal and Zambia that generate their income from informal labour.
The first results of this multiannual research project are compiled in the joint publication "A majority working in the shadows", which will be launched on the occasion of our event on 28 September. While the publication focuses on health, health financing, impact of Covid-19, social protection, political trust and representation of the informally employed, the huge set of data offers opportunities for further research and will be made available open access soon.
We hope the results of this study project will allow to enter into a boarder debate on policy implications and strategies to overcome the challenges. We would be honoured to launch this debate together with you on 28 September.
Here you can find the preliminary agenda of the event.
Please register for the event via email to fes.afrika@fes.de until 26 September 2022.
We look forward to your participation!
Best regards,
Henrik Maihack
Head of Africa Department
Division for International Cooperation
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
