The informal economy is considered a major contributor particularly in emerging and developing countries, contributes as much as 65 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and generates around 70 per cent of employment. However, they are precariously vulnerable to risks and shocks, which threaten to reverse all progress if these happen. This was the case of the workers of the informal sector in Marawi City in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in the southern island of the Philippines.  

With support from UNDP’s Informal Economy Facility, Accelerator Lab Philippines (ALab PH) developed this study to dive deep into the BARMM informal economy, understand the drivers of it, and prospects in the region’s recovery. The report also determines how social innovation can be leveraged to foster the participation and inclusion of informal actors, both workers and enterprises. The study employed rapid ethnography for primary data collection, literature review for conceptual alignment with the extensive discourse on the subject, and systems thinking for analysis. 

This report was a collaboration between UNDP Philippines and the local partners who have extended critical support and valuable insights throughout the process: Bangsamoro Parliamentary Research and Legal Services, BARMM Ministry of Trade, Investments, and Tourism, BARMM Ministry of Labor and Employment, Marawi City Government, Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur, Task Force Bangon Marawi, Mindanao State University, Cooperative and Social Enterprise Authority, Philippine Business for Social Progress, Alliance of Workers in the Informal Economy Sector, The Moropreneur, Inc., and the community members who served as respondents in the study. Technical guidance was provided by the UNDP Inclusive Growth Team and UNDP Philippines Peace and Stabilization Programme Team.