The hidden opportunities of the informal economy | Niti Bhan

翻译人员: Chelsea Luo 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

The informal markets of Africa are stereotypically seen

人们通常对非洲的 非正式市场抱有成见，

as chaotic and lackadaisical.

认为此类地摊混乱又懒散。

The downside of hearing the word "informal"

可惜的是，人们听见非正式这个词

is this automatic grand association we have,

所产生的联想

which is very negative,

普遍为负面的，

and it's had significant consequences and economic losses,

也因此造成了重大的 影响与经济损失，

easily adding -- or subtracting -- 40 to 60 percent of the profit margin

轻易为非正式市场添加 ——或减去——40-60%的利润率

for the informal markets alone.

这还不包括其他市场

As part of a task of mapping the informal trade ecosystem,

为了勾绘出非正式市场的生态系统

we've done an extensive literature review

我们浏览了近20年内

of all the reports and research on cross-border trade in East Africa,

大量对与东非跨境贸易有关的

going back 20 years.

研究与报告。

This was to prepare us for fieldwork to understand what was the problem,

这是为我们接下来的实地考察做准备， 去尝试理解问题在哪，

what was holding back informal trade in the informal sector.

非正式贸易的阻碍是什么。

What we discovered over the last 20 years was,

我们发现在这20年间

nobody had distinguished between illicit --

从未有人区分过违法行为 ——

which is like smuggling or contraband in the informal sector --

例如非正式行业内的 走私与非法倒卖 ——

from the legal but unrecorded,

与合法但无登记记录的商品，

such as tomatoes, oranges, fruit.

例如番茄，橘子之类的水果。

This criminalization --

这样的定罪 ——

贸易在斯瓦希里语中被称为“biashara”，

what in Swahili refers to as "biashara," which is the trade or the commerce,

versus "magendo," which is the smuggling or contraband --

而不是“magendo”或走私 ——

this criminalization of the informal sector,

在英语中如此定罪于非正式行业，

in English, by not distinguishing between these aspects,

只是因为英语并不区分两者，

easily can cost each African economy between 60 to 80 percent addition

这就轻易排除了60%到80%的

on the annual GDP growth rate,

非洲经济年均GDP增长率，

because we are not recognizing the engine

因为我们正在忽略

of what keeps the economies running.

维持经济发展的引擎。

The informal sector is growing jobs at four times the rate

非正式行业内职位的增长

of the traditional formal economy,

是传统正式经济，或许多人

or "modern" economy, as many call it.

称为的“现代“经济的四倍。

It offers employment and income generation opportunities

它根据传统条框为最”无技术群体“

to the most "unskilled" in conventional disciplines.

提供了任职与收入机会。

But can you make a french fry machine out of an old car?

但是你可以把一辆旧车 改造成薯条机么？

So, this, ladies and gentlemen,

所以，女士们先生们，

is what so desperately needs to be recognized.

这就是急需被认可的东西。

As long as the current assumptions hold that this is criminal,

只要现有设想认为这是犯法，

this is shadow,

见不得光，

this is illegal,

非法的，

there will be no attempt at integrating the informal economic ecosystem

就没人会尝试将 非正式经济生态环境

with the formal or even the global one.

与正式的，甚至全球的 市场结合起来。

I'm going to tell you a story of Teresia,

我要给你们讲一个故事，

a trader who overturned all our assumptions,

主人公是一个名为泰雷西亚的商人，

made us question all the stereotypes that we'd gone in on,

她改变了我们的设想， 并使我们反思了一开始所有

based on 20 years of literature review.

根据20年间文案研究形成的偏见。

Teresia sells clothes under a tree in a town called Malaba,

特雷西亚在一个叫 马拉巴尔的小镇树下卖衣服，

那里位于乌干达和 肯尼亚的交界处。

on the border of Uganda and Kenya.

You think it's very simple, don't you?

你是不是觉得这听起来很简单？

We'll go hang up new clothes from the branches,

我们只需要在树枝上挂上新衣服，

put out the tarp, settle down, wait for customers,

铺开地毯，坐着等待顾客，

and there we have it.

这就够了。

She was everything we were expecting according to the literature,

她与我们根据文献和研究所

to the research,

产生的所有预期相符，

right down to she was a single mom driven to trade,

贴切到她开始做生意的原因，

supporting her kids.

一个单亲妈妈补贴家用。

So what overturned our assumptions?

那么是什么改变了我们的设想？

What surprised us?

什么是我们预料之外的？

First, Teresia paid the county government market fees

首先，特雷西亚每个工作日都会

every single working day

给乡政府交摊位费，

for the privilege of setting up shop under her tree.

就为了能在树下搭建她的小商铺。

She's been doing it for seven years,

她从事这个工作已经有七年之久，

and she's been getting receipts.

而且她保留着所有收据。

She keeps records.

她的账目很清晰。

We're seeing not a marginal,

我们现在看到的不是一个边远的，

underprivileged,

贫困的，

vulnerable African woman trader by the side of the road -- no.

无助的非洲路边商妇——完全不是。

We were seeing somebody who's keeping sales records for years;

我们看到的是一个维持了 销售记录多年的人，

somebody who had an entire ecosystem of retail that comes in from Uganda

一个售卖来自乌干达的商品，

to pick up inventory;

在零售生态系统中运作的人，

someone who's got handcarts bringing the goods in,

用手推车进货，

or the mobile money agent who comes to collect cash

或者是在一天结束后， 以流动财富代理身份

at the end of the evening.

收钱的人。

Can you guess how much Teresia spends, on average,

你能猜到特雷西亚平均

each month on inventory --

每月花多少钱

stocks of new clothes that she gets from Nairobi?

从内罗比进购新品吗？

One thousand five hundred US dollars.

1500美元。

That's around 20,000 US dollars invested in trade goods and services

也就是说每年有2万美元被投资于

every year.

商品及劳务。

This is Teresia,

这就是特雷西亚，

无形的，被隐藏的

the invisible one,

the hidden middle.

群体中的一员。

And she's only the first rung of the small entrepreneurs,

且她只是这些贸易小镇里 随处可见的

the micro-businesses that can be found in these market towns.

微生意，小企业家里的第一级。

At least in the larger Malaba border, she's at the first rung.

至少在整个马拉巴尔边界， 她处在最底层。

The people further up the value chain

再往价值链上走，

are easily running three lines of business,

人们轻松运营着三项业务，

investing 2,500 to 3,000 US dollars every month.

每月投资2500到3000美元。

So the problem turned out that it wasn't the criminalization;

也就是说，问题并不出在定罪上，

you can't really criminalize someone you're charging receipts from.

你并不能给一个纳税商定罪。

It's the lack of recognition of their skilled occupations.

问题的关键在于 他们的技术职业并没有被承认。

The bank systems and structures have no means to recognize them

银行机构无法认可它们为

as micro-businesses,

微商，

much less the fact that, you know,

更不用说

her tree doesn't have a forwarding address.

她的那棵树并没有转递地址。

So she's trapped in the middle.

所以她被困住了。

She's falling through the cracks of our assumptions.

她被遗弃于我们构想的漏洞中。

You know all those microloans to help African women traders?

你们知道那些帮助 非洲女商人的小额贷款吗？

They're going to loan her 50 dollars or 100 dollars.

它们只会给她50到100美元。

What's she going to do with it?

她能用这些钱做什么？

她每个月单是花在进货上的钱

She spends 10 times that amount every month

just on inventory --

就是这个数字的10倍——

we're not talking about the additional services

并不包括额外服务

or the support ecosystem.

和支援性生态系统。

These are the ones who fit neither the policy stereotype

这些人既不符合政策框架

of the low-skilled and the marginalized,

也不符合低技术或边缘化人才，

nor the white-collar, salaried office worker

更不符合朝九晚五的白领

or civil servant with a pension

或是有铁饭碗的公务员

that the middle classes are allegedly composed of.

这一系列大家心目中的 中层阶级群体。

Instead, what we have here are the proto-SMEs

我们所看见的 实则是中小型企业原型，

these are the fertile seeds of businesses and enterprises

这些是含苞待放的生意，行业，

that keep the engines running.

是使经济引擎运作的根本。

They put food on your table.

他们让你桌上有食物。

Even here in this hotel, the invisible ones --

甚至在（屏幕上）这所宾馆内， 那些看不见的——

the butchers, the bakers the candlestick makers --

屠夫，面包师，烛台师傅——

they make the machines that make your french fries

他们搭建了炸薯条的机器，

and they make your beds.

还帮你制作床架。

These are the invisible businesswomen trading across borders,

这些是被忽略的女企业家 进行着跨边界交易，

all on the side of the road,

她们的生意通通都在路边，

and so they're invisible to data gatherers.

所以她们的贡献 不被数据统计者囊括。

And they're mashed together with the vast informal sector

她们还被粗略概括在 广大的非正式行业内，

that doesn't bother to distinguish between smugglers and tax evaders

这个范围并没有对走私者，逃税者，

and those running illegal whatnot,

以及其他违法犯罪者，

and the ladies who trade,

与做贸易的女士们，

and who put food on the table and send their kids to university.

养家糊口，供孩子上大学的人 做出合理的区分。

So that's really what I'm asking here.

这便是我的诉求。

That's all that we need to start by doing.

是我们全部的行动起始点。

Can we start by recognizing the skills, the occupations?

我们能从承认 这类技术与工作开始吗？

We could transform the informal economy by beginning with this recognition

我们可以改变非正式经济， 首先承认他们的身份，

and then designing the customized doorways for them to enter

接着为它们定制加入

or integrate with the formal,

或合并于正式，

with the global,

全球化的

with the entire system.

整个系统的计划。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

谢谢各位女士们，先生们。

(Applause)

（掌声）