Introduction

Senegal’s young people are very active. Every year, more than 300,000 new job seekers enter the labour market. Despite the efforts of the government, finding a formal job is a real struggle. While for many, working in an office is a dream, the reality is unfortunately much more complicated, so much so that thousands of Senegalese inevitably turn to the only employer capable of taking them all on: the street. The street offers unlimited opportunities for those who know how to seize them, but it can be a real crossroads for others. 

Unlimited opportunities

According to the World Bank, the informal sector accounts for almost 97% of all new jobs created in Senegal, and is a real way out in a country that is very hard hit by unemployment. The sectors of activity are extremely varied. Throughout the country, motorbikes commonly known as “Thiak-Thiak” can be found on every street corner. Initially used as a means of transport in the interior of the country, they have invaded the capital, Dakar, where most of the country’s economic activity is concentrated, even democratizing another activity that until now attracted few people: delivery.

Thiak-Thiak has gradually become the main employer of young people. 

The other fashionable sector is sales. This is mainly clothing sales, but food sales of all kinds are also very popular. This sector is so interesting that an alternative system has been developed by Senegalese who don’t have enough capital to start up their own business, called “Rangou”, which consists of selling a product that you don’t have by putting a trader and a customer in touch with each other in return for a commission on the sale. 

The repair of cars, household appliances, and mobile phones, very often by self-taught people, and fishing also employ no Senegalese.

In short, the street offers many opportunities, but it must be acknowledged that although street jobs are a real alternative to unemployment, they do not always offer solid guarantees.

A lucrative but highly unstable sector

Some of the country’s most emblematic figures, who have become billionaires and successful entrepreneurs, started their businesses in the informal sector. Babacar Ngom of Sedima SA, for example, has become a benchmark in the production and marketing of poultry feed. He started his business with an investment of 60,000 francs and today heads a company with a capital of 2 billion CFA francs. But this is an exceptional case since most of the 10 people who decide to go into the informal sector fail after just a few months.

The main difficulty lies in the lack of regulation and the virtual impossibility of accessing finance, as banks are not very comfortable investing in such an unreliable environment where the return on investment is not always guaranteed.

Other difficulties include insecurity due to snowshoeing and banditry, the arrival in the sector of foreigners, particularly the Chinese, who produce in large quantities and sell at low prices, often making the competition unfair, the lack of social protection, and the lack of training and qualifications, to name but a few.

Conclusion

The informal sector is very important for the Senegalese economy, but its instability is considerably slowing down the country’s economic and social development. There is therefore an urgent need to find solutions to make it more formal so that the street becomes an effective solution to the employment problem.