Even in the case of individual migrants, it is hard to quantify their contribution to GDP, since most are secretive about their activities. But most surveys suggest that migrants, even illegal ones, bring many benefits to their hosts. A typical migrant trader brings goods to South Africa that are not locally available. Zimbabweans hawk wire or soapstone sculptures, Ghanaians sell kente cloth, Mozambicans bring sacks of cashews. Having sold these, the trader then usually spends most of his profits in South African shops.
Migrant labourers wishing to send remittances home often do so in kind, rather than in cash.
Few have bank accounts, and many prefer South African shops to the ones back home. So they spend their wages on gas stoves and canned food, and pay long-distance minibus drivers to deliver these to their families. Migrant workers sometimes set up businesses in South Africa. Some make clothes, some start nightclubs, some open warehouses or car- repair shops. A study by Christian Rogerson of SAMP found that most migrant entrepreneurs from neighbouring countries accumulated their start-up capital by first working for wages in South Africa.