Zimbabwe continues to record an increase in the number of people resorting to informal employment. This has been the case in most developing countries as populations try to circumvent urban poverty. Since the Economic Structural Adjustments, the nation has had a high proportion of unemployed and an increase in vending. However, pre-colonial town planning, adopted by the local authorities has failed to keep up with the informal traders and this has resulted in a discord in attempts towards inclusive town planning. The Bulawayo Informal Sector Study, a survey undertaken by FES in partnership with the City of Bulawayo and the Bulawayo Informal Sector Working Group explores the dynamics around street vendors in Bulawayo and tables some recommendations that can be implemented by the city council to better address challenges faced within the sector. Bulawayo City Council acknowledges the contribution of the informal sector in alleviating urban poverty and therefore seeks the opportunity around the establishment of proper markets and this requires efforts towards regularization of the sector, amongst other formalities. The study is guided by 4 main objectives around socio-economic realities, demographic profiling, attitudes towards regularization and formalization, and gender-specific needs identified by the study. Previous studies conducted by FES in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, and studies in Zimbabwe reiterate the importance of social protection in achieving decent work and the glaring gaps within the current approach in enhancing the resilience of vendors to shocks beyond their control such as health crisis amongst others.