Keywords
informal economy
livelihood protection
digital exclusion
hybrid governance
algorithmic bias
digital justice
How to Cite
Abstract
Across sub-Saharan Africa, where the informal economy sustains the overwhelming majority of livelihoods, a profound paradox unfolds as states pursue digital formalization. Kenya’s Huduma Namba and Ghana’s Ghana Card, championed as catalysts for streamlined services, financial inclusion, and enhanced governance, frequently deepen pre-existing inequalities despite their inclusive promise. This research exposes how urban informal traders in Nairobi and Accra confront a critical double bind: digital IDs unlock essential financial services like mobile money and microcredit, yet simultaneously erect exclusionary barriers through technical complexity, data literacy demands, and opaque algorithmic processes. The woman artisan barred by biometric systems incompatible with manual labor scars or the vendor denied digital loans due to impersonal algorithmic scoring exemplifies the human cost of exclusion embedded within digitization agendas. Employing rigorous mixed-methods analysis—policy review, surveys of 400 traders, and 60 stakeholder interviews—this study dissects the tension between state formalization imperatives and the protection of vulnerable livelihoods. Findings reveal that resilience thrives not through state-imposed digital systems nor unregulated informality, but within innovative hybrid governance spaces where digital infrastructures dynamically interact with trusted community networks and responsive state policies. The analysis culminates in an urgent call for a "digital justice" framework. Sustainable formalization necessitates actively balancing administrative efficiency with robust equity safeguards, ensuring technological advancement amplifies rather than extinguishes the economic agency of Africa’s indispensable informal workforce.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Simon Suwanzy Dzreke, Semefa Elikplim Dzreke