The government through the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA), has set aside Rwf800m to help street vendors in the City of Kigali formalise their business operations. The money will go towards capitalizing businesses for these vendors and settling them into different selling points where they can run profitable business, according to Marie-Solange Claudine Nyinawagaga the Director General of LODA. According to Nyinawagaga, there have previously been many initiatives to get vendors off the streets to marketplaces but they all registered minimal success, mainly because these people do not have enough capital to operate in those markets. They end up coming back to the streets, where, she said, there is no potential for growth of any business. She said that on average, street vendors have capital of between Rwf3,000 and Rwf5,000 which she said is too little for them to afford a stall in any market in the city. “For this fiscal year (2022-2023), we have set aside Rwf800m to support the mainstreaming and apprenticeship of street vendors in the Kigali,” she said. She added that they have set aside an envelope amounting to over Rwf200 million to financially support their small businesses through small loans and financial literacy component. Nyinawagaga said that they will offer them loans with a low interest rate of 2 per cent and equip them with business skills since many are youth, while ECD Centres will be set up for those with children. She added that besides not being affordable, the available markets have a few stands which cannot absorb all those taken off the streets, adding that the solution will be establishing designated ‘selling points’ and each will be given capital of Rwf5,000 of which they will pay Rwf51,000. They will be then followed up for at least one year. “Within that year, we shall pay for them rent, trade license the other expenses like electricity and sanitation fees and give them business mentorship to help them become successful traders,” she added. Josephine Mukishimana, a street vendor who operates from the central business district says that she has a capital of Rwf2000 which she uses to buy yellow banana and avocadoes that she then sells. She said that with such capital, she cannot afford a stall in the market, live alone getting enough stock. Mukeshimana added that walking around with the basket on the head is tiresome but then the market stands are very expensive and yet there are additional charges like tax and other overheads. Straton Habyarimana, an economist told The New Times that, formalizing such businesses is good for the economy. “We have over two million people who depend on unregistered businesses, street vending included,” he said, adding that the more you get to formalize their business, the better for the economy. Habyarimana said that it is a good thing to get street vendors in the marketplace, rather than selling while running away from security officers which even endangers their lives.
