The growth of street vending and its contribution to the standards of living for the urban poor in Kampala

Abstract

This report investigated the efficacy of street vending as a means for achieving economic sustenance and maintaining a given standard of living by those engaged in the business with special interest to those operating within Kampala capital city. A sample of 57 street vendors was decided on and Kobo collect was used to gather data. The study also adopted the descriptive research design. The study findings were that the streets are mainly dominated by the youths of age 20 Years to 30 years who accounted for 62.50%.Thestudyfoundthatmostofthestreet Vendors under study are earning little from the business. Moreover, the majority (70.37%) Cannot afford decent homes and are renting. The study also found that street vending could be a means for achieving economic Sustenance by those engaged in the business if proper support structures are put in place by the government. The study findings also established that most of these street vendors in Kampala have attained some level of education with51.79% having the secondary level of education. Therefore, street vendors are not as ignorant as you may think. The study found that lack of formal employment, the need for survival and support for family, street vending being a potential source of income, the need to be self-employed among the people, lack of knowledge and skills for formal work are among the major factors attracting people to street vending. This research also establishes the fact that the reasons attracting different individuals to the street vending activity differ among different age categories with most of the youths adopting the activity due to unemployment while the elderly group is majorly aiming at providing family. According to this report, lack of capital, lack of storage places for street vendor’s goods, Lack of formal workplaces, harassments from city authorities in form of eviction, harassments from fellow traders, abrupt weather changes, low volume of sales are among the major challenges that street vendors face in there every day life