Zuziwe Mpanza, Brian Ngwako Mahosi
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted global economic frameworks, with informal food traders experiencing disproportionate impacts due to their constrained resources and vulnerability to regulatory oversight. This study employs resilience theory to examine how informal food traders in South African urban townships developed and deployed adaptive strategies to maintain operational continuity during the pandemic. Using a qualitative research design with thematic analysis, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 12 informal food traders, supplemented by observational data. Atlas.ti software facilitated in-depth data examination following recognised thematic analysis guidelines. The findings reveal four primary resilience mechanisms: absorptive capacity through financial restructuring and community support networks; adaptive capacity via digital technology adoption and business diversification; transformative capacity through fundamental operational changes; and systemic invisibility as both a vulnerability and source of autonomous adaptation. Results demonstrate that whilst informal food traders faced unprecedented challenges including financial vulnerability, intensified competition, and regulatory barriers, they exhibited remarkable resilience through multi-layered adaptive strategies that transcended mere survival responses. The study contributes to resilience theory by demonstrating how marginalized economic actors develop autonomous adaptive capacities when excluded from formal support systems. These findings have significant implications for policy development, suggesting the need for inclusive crisis response frameworks that recognise and support the inherent resilience mechanisms of informal traders rather than treating them solely as vulnerable beneficiaries.