Using GeoHashes to Combine IOT and GIS to Provide Business Intelligence to the Informal Sector in South Africa

South Africa has one of the highest GINI coeefficient indicating a high degree of inequality in the country. There is also extreme unemployment with the expanded unemployment rate being 38.3% and in some subsections of the economy as high as 68.3%. Despite this, the Informal Sector (non-agricultural) employs over three million people. Many corporates offer products to the formal sector, the informal sector or both. The commercial margins are often very slim in the informal sector. This paper looks at the use of Internet of Things, Geographical Information Systems, and GeoHashes to provide business intelligence to merchants in the Informal Sector thereby helping them improve their competitive advantage.