Analytical Study of the Factors Affecting Informal Domestic Trade in Urban Areas of Rwanda Case of Street vendors in Kigali City

Existing literature shows that street vendors are believed to sale at the cheapest price when compared to other traders selling in formally recognized places. However, they face a lot of challenges as they sale within unregulated and non-conducive environment. The general objective of the study is to explore and analyze the factors affecting street vending in urban centers and cities of Rwanda. The study targeted 3 specific objectives: Examining demographic factors affecting street vending business in Kigali city, Analyzing socio-economic factors affecting street vending in Kigali city and exploring socio-cultural factors affecting street vending business in Kigali city. Street vendors operating in Kigali city were the targeted population for this study. A scientific formula was used to determine the sample size and showed a sample size of 246 vendors. To reach the whole number of respondents, snowball sampling technique was used whereby a small number of vendors was selected and got convinced on research objectives and then were required to convince their colleagues. The same exercise was repeated until the required number to complete the sample size was obtained. During data collection, relevant designed questionnaire was used whereby the respondent was answering to relevant questions to the interviewer within a face to face interview. In order to assess the feasibility of the study and reliability of the questionnaire, a pilot test was conducted. SPSS and Excel software were used to perform data analysis task and regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the study variables.