9 May 2026
Vantage Insights
Strategy
Most informal SME owners we meet do a rough mental calculation: "If I formalise, I pay tax. If I don't, I don't. So I save money by staying informal." That calculation misses every important number. The real cost of informality is the tenders you can't bid for, the bank loans you can't qualify for, the corporate contracts that require your tax clearance, the grants you don't get, and the customers who quietly walk away when you can't issue a fiscalised receipt.
