Appraising the impact of currency redesign on the nigerian construction artisans in the informal sector

The currency redesign era may complicate financial transactions for construction artisans in the informal sector and threaten to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) (1 and 2). The majority still need a bank account which may increase unemployment and hunger. Therefore, the study investigated Nigerian construction artisans’ challenges in the informal sector and proffered measures to mitigate future currency redesign challenges and, by extension, improve achieving Goals 1 and 2. The study employed a qualitative research design and engaged 28 knowledgeable participants in Lagos, Nigeria. The research achieved saturation with the selected participants and used a thematic analysis to analyse the collected data. The study shows that currency redesign is germane to construction sector advancement and developing economies at large. The impact includes increased unemployment, hunger, low patronage and productivity. These are threats to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2. Among the top-ranked measures suggested are encouraging bank account openings, currency redesign should be in sequence and planned, public education and cash handler education purposes, and skills training (reskilling and upskilling). The study extends currency redesign and the construction artisans in the informal sector literature by showing that currency redesign is pertinent to the sector’s growth.