Informal economy

Assessment of activity-based learning (ABL) programmes for informal businesses and workers: Lessons learned from Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, with their relevance for India

This report refers to specific cases of capacity building support in Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to identify impact of the ABL programmes and indicate applicability of the programmes to support informal businesses and workers in India given the size of the informal economy in the country.

In Asia and the Pacific, 68.8 per cent of the employed population works in the informal economy, which is typically characterized by high incidence of poverty and severe decent work deficits. The ILO has been supporting informal businesses and workers in the region through activity-based learning (ABL) programmes which adopt innovative, sustainable, participatory and low-cost methodology. This report refers to specific cases of capacity building support in Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to identify impact of the ABL programmes and indicate applicability of the programmes to support informal businesses and workers in India given the size of the informal economy in the country.