Street vending is one of the most visible activities in the informal economy and is found everywhere in the world, both in developed and developing countries. This study is designed to assess the challenges and prospects of street vending in Robe town. Street vending is an activity which takes place outside enclosed premises or covered workspace on street pavements, sidewalks, but also at bus stops and in other public places. The key players are economically disadvantaged persons such as new migrants, the poor, lowly educated, individuals searching for jobs, and those disadvantaged in different ways are included in the margins. Street vendors face many challenges such as lack of infrastructure, legal status, and limited access to capital, insecurity of places, being overlooked as economic ageing ents, hindered rather than helped by municipal policies, and economic challenges. The study has the following specific objectives; to identify the major factors leading vendors to street vending, to identify the major challenges that street vendors faced while operating their business, and to assess the economic opportunities of the street vending to the urban poor people of the study area. To collect all the necessary data the researchers have used both primary and secondary sources of data. Questionnaire, interview, observation and focus group discussion was used as tools for gathering primary data. Secondary data was collected from websites, published and unpublished documents and other related documents. Data collected from respondents was analyzed through descriptive statistics. Furthermore, the expected result of this research would identify the major challenges and opportunities of street vending in Robe, Goba, Ginir, Goro and Dello Mena towns.