Pakistan’s informal sector — street vendors, rickshaw drivers, roadside repair shops, mobile phone fixers — forms the beating heart of its urban economy, yet remains almost entirely absent from policy documents and GDP calculations. Around three-quarters of the national workforce operate outside formal structures, with 69% of urban workers in the informal sector contributing roughly a third of national GDP. Despite this scale, productivity in the informal sector remains two to three times lower than in formal employment, primarily because workers are cut off from credit, training, infrastructure, and legal protection. Well-designed formalisation initiatives can transform livelihoods — but only when execution matches intent and procurement integrity is maintained.