NIMBLE COMMERCE


NIMBLE COMMERCE

Street vendor lays out his merchandise at a bus stop around the Mexico roundabout. He looks to instigate impulsive purchases from pedestrians through a shifting marketplace. The Addis Abeba Trade Bureau is drafting regulations that restrict the type of products sold by street vendors. High levels of urban unemployment fueled in part by elevated rural-urban migrations contribute to the thriving informal sector. Recent estimates of the informal sector are around t 69pc in the capital compared to the national average, which lies below 15pc.While the term informal often sparks a raised eyebrow a majority of the economic activity in urban areas in developing countries is conducted through such channels. The informal sector currently accounts for over half the global employment, involving an estimated 1.8 billion people as compared to the 1.2 billion of the formal sector according to data from the International Labor Organization(ILO).

[ssba-buttons]

In-Picture

UP AND DOWN

Makeshift wooden ladder bridges on duty due to ongoing corridor development works around Goro Square, offering a precarious route for pedestrians and shopgoers. As part of the city's corridor upgrade, sidewalks are being rebuilt, but delays and the absence of accessible detours have forced residents to improvise. Business owners have been left to create temporary access for customers, while construction crews continue grading and excavation without marked pedestrian pathways...


In-Picture

BUSTED MYSTERY

As part of the city's beautification project, a collapsed metal-sheet fence around the Kkare building in Mexico Square reveals dusty roads and disorganised structures behind the polished façade. While intended to conceal construction zones, the fences have also become canvases for muralists adding bursts of colour and creativity to the transforming cityscape...


In-Picture

SHY FASHION

Shielded by sun, hidden from view, mannequins around the stadium stand veiled as new corridor rules ban storefront shades. A young shopper steps inside, guided more by curiosity than display. The restrictions are part of a broader city plan to standardise shopfront aesthetics along major corridors...