An examination of the Impact of Covid-19 on the Informal Sector in Gaborone, Botswana

The study aimed at examining the impact of Covid-19 on the informal sector in Gaborone,

Botswana. The problem is that the informal sector has been badly affected by the pandemic. A

quantitative research approach was employed, and a quantitative descriptive research design

provided a road map that was used to fulfil this research. Convenience sampling was used to

gather a sample of 60 participants from the informal sector businesses which employ less than

five people and has been operating within Gaborone for five years or less. Business owners and

employees were targeted. Both self-administered and online questionnaires were used to gather

data. Quantitative data analysis methods were employed to analyse the data that was captured by

the questionnaires. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 20.

This research concluded that the impact of Covid -19 was severe on the informal sector leaving

businesses at the verge of collapsing with workers left unemployed. Very few businesses (7%)

had crises management strategies in place and a level of crises preparedness was established. The

informal sector players in Gaborone lacked business recovery plans as only 7% understood

recovery planning. The government of Botswana has put in place programs to support the

informal sector in times of crises. However, a few of the informal sector players are aware of the

government support programs. This shows that there is lack of cohesion between the government

and the informal sector. This was partly because the government had difficulty to assess and

qualify the informal sector business people for support as they are not formally registered as

companies by any of the regulating authorities. The study recommended that the government

should embark on an exercise to sensitise the informal sector about the support available for

them and to encourage them to register with relevant regulatory authorities. Further research

should be done involving other sectors in the economy.