A revolution is taking place in the great marketplaces of the informal sector and it contains an unquantified scale and power as an economic engine and a way of life for the majority of our low income populations. The KasiNomic Revolution may still be a murmur in the streets, a grassroots economic groundswell, but it is the future of African economic activity.

Kasi is the South African term for the township – a teeming conurbation of homes and businesses, entertainment venues and social meeting places. GG Alcock uses the term KasiNomics to describe the informal sectors of Africa, whether they are in the township, a rural marketplace, at a taxi rank or on a pavement in the shadow of skyscrapers. Brought up in a rural Zulu community, GG has learnt and shares the lessons of African culture, language, stick fighting, lifestyle and tribal politics, along with shared poverty and community, which have prepared him for accessing the great informal marketplaces of Africa. He is uniquely placed to uncover the extraordinary stories of kasi businesses which not only survive but excel, revealing a revolutionary entrepreneurship which is mostly invisible to the formal sector.

KasiNomic Revolution is a story of kasi entrepreneurs on one side and, on the other, of great corporate successes and failures in the informal community. KasiNomic Revolution is at once a business book, and at the same time a deeply human book about the people and lives of rural and urban informal societies.

KasiNomic Revolution is about the lessons of marketing, distribution, culture and modernity in an informal African world.

Did you know …

• That the muti market is worth R3 billion a year, with 27 million consumers?
• That the average hawker earns R3000 a month and there are nearly 500 000 of them!?
• That the trade in goats is worth millions of rand?
• That the dagga trade can set the standard for market and distribution to the informal market?
• That Parmalat Cheese Slices have created a multi-million rand business in kotas, and why the Perfect Sishebo Show is the biggest food show in the country?

Do consumers modernise or westernise? What are the eight cultural megatrends of the South African kasi sector? One of them is modernising, another is spirituality, but how and why?

Feast on Mogodu Mondays and Shwam-shwams, visit sacrifice ceremonies and stokvels, meet sangomas and urban trendsetters. You will never look at the low income informal sector people and businesses in the same way again. With stories and anecdotes, from kayaking down the Tugela, Zulu dancing in the pyramids to hijacking a Kulula flight, GG’s true life stories and how they link to understanding and inspiration for marketing ideas will make you gasp, laugh and shake your head in wonder.

A book as eclectic, mysterious and colourful as the marketplace it is written about.

You may have read GG Alcock’s books about the kasi economy; now follow his journey to the dynamic world of KasiNomics and learn about the tribal forces that shaped him.

Born White Zulu Bred is the story of a white child and his brother raised in poverty in a Zulu community in rural South Africa during the apartheid era. His extraordinary parents, Creina and Neil Alcock, gave up lives of comfort and privilege to live and work among the destitute people of Msinga, whose material and social well-being became their mission. But more than that, this is a story about life in South Africa today which, through GG’s unique perspective, explores the huge diversity of the country’s people – from tribal Zulu warriors to sophisticated urban black township entrepreneurs. A journey from the arid wastes of Msinga into the thriving informal economies of urban townships.

GG’s view is that we do not live in a black and white world but in a world of contrast and diversity, one which he wants South Africans, and a world audience, to see for what it is without descending into racial and historical clichés. He takes us through the mazes of township marketplaces, shacks and crowded streets to reveal the proud and dignified world of township entrepreneurs who are transforming South Africa’s economy. This is the world that he moves in today as a successful businessman, still walking those spaces and celebrating the vibrant informal economies that are taking part in the KasiNomic Revolution.

GG’s story is about being truly African, even as a white person, and it draws on the adventures, the cultural challenges, the informal spaces and the future possibilities of South Africa.

Meet the inspiring kasipreneurs of the informal economy, from bakers to backroom rental barons, coffee innovators to goat breeders, kasi delivery people to spaza innovators, mattress makers, backroom builders, vetkoek fryers and chicken dust queens, kota franchises and backyard auto mechanics.

These kasipreneurs not only sustain their communities but also drive considerable economic growth and social improvement. Each one has a unique story, yet they share a common thread of perseverance, innovative spirit, resilience and ingenuity. While formal statistics
paint a bleak picture of widespread unemployment, this book tells a different story – one of ingenuity, resilience and drive. These are the men and women who are creating their own opportunities, building livelihoods, and contributing to the economy in ways that often go
unrecognised. Their stories challenge the narrative and shine a light on a vibrant, entrepreneurial spirit thriving in the heart of the informal economy.

KasiNomics Unleashed is also the story of the corporate pioneers; the executives who thrive doing business in these informal spaces – the listed property companies, township butchery chains, grocery delivery founders, furniture suppliers, financial services entrepreneurs
and township property developers. As you delve into the tales of these enterprising executives, you will discover insights and lessons that transcend the boundaries of conventional business wisdom.

This is, on one hand, a book from GG Alcock about the business opportunities, pitfalls and key success factors for business in these rural and township spaces. But mostly it’s a deeply human story of the inspiring, tenacious entrepreneurs of our informal economy who
are otherwise invisible – they are the future … a KasiNomic power unleashed.