It t’s a big reality, the ubiquitous yet mostly under-the-radar ‘backroom rental market’ in South Africa’s informal economy.
And it’s a big answer to a bleak issue – limited housing.
Add to that the unlimited problems of unemployment, poor government service delivery and consistent rolling blackouts that cast long shadows of despair.
But there is an unspoken language of resilience or sub-text in these economies.
Where the system fails, there is room for creativity, literally, and therein exists a billion-dollar rental market for ‘the room in the back’.
According to a 2022 report by financial services provider Rand Merchant Bank, this market is neither taxed nor monitored by the government. Although this is cause for concern, Roger Wilco’s 2022 Township CX Report states that the sector’s total market value is estimated to be R900 billion ($48 billion) with approximately 60% of the market considered formal and 40% informal. Over R20 billion ($1 billion) of that is the backyard rental market space.
“I think it’s potentially double that, but let’s just stick with R20 billion; over and above that there is another R25 billion ($1.3 billion) a year earned from spaza (shop) rentals,” GG Alcock, the South African author of KasiNomics, says to FORBES AFRICA.
KasiNomics emerged as a book from the insights, practices, and case studies of the township economy. “And here is the thing, if someone comes to you and asks you if you are unemployed, you are going to say ‘yes’ but meanwhile you are renting out a backroom for let’s say R9,000 (taxfree) ($480) but you will still say you are unemployed.”
ãã®èšäºã¯ Forbes Africa ã® December 2023 - January 2024 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã ?  ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
ãã®èšäºã¯ Forbes Africa ã® December 2023 - January 2024 çã«æ²èŒãããŠããŸãã
7 æ¥éã® Magzter GOLD ç¡æãã©ã€ã¢ã«ãéå§ããŠãäœåãã®å³éžããããã¬ãã¢ã ã¹ããŒãªãŒã9,000 以äžã®éèªãæ°èã«ã¢ã¯ã»ã¹ããŠãã ããã
ãã§ã«è³Œèªè ã§ã? ãµã€ã³ã€ã³
TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND
IN THE PRISTINE WILDERNESS OF GABON ARE THE MAJESTIC AND GENTLE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS. A FIRSTHAND REPORT FROM OUR TRAVEL WRITER ON WHAT GOES INTO HABITUATING THEM.
CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues transforming many industries, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. However, these advancements bring complex challenges that necessitate a delicate balancing act.
BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
The great poet William Butler Yeats once said, \"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.\"
The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style
In the dynamic world of street dance, passion and perseverance pave the way for success. Living out this ethos is South African born B-girl turned businesswoman, Courtnaé Paul.
COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING
It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE
Have you found your niche? I received a lot of advice when I set up my company, but perhaps the most important consisted of just three words: Find Your Niche.
HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO
When all else fails, try sports. It's good for the soul.
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic's imagination when creating Willy Wonka's bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'
Arnold Vosloo Actor
BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS
Amid the widespread global support for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an underlying concern among economists and financial advisors in the emerging and frontier markets: public sector and donor funds were stalled, if not regressing, and the funding gap to realize the SDGs was increasing.