This archive report was first published on 11 September 2021.
Published on September 11, 2021, a report by Qhala and Caribou Digital, with the support of the Mastercard Foundation, shed light on the challenges faced by rural youth in accessing online job opportunities.
As the world embraces remote working, the digital divide between rural and urban areas in Kenya remains a major challenge. The report focused on platform livelihoods, including gig work, e-commerce, and social commerce, which are mostly urban and dominated by younger, tech-savvy individuals.
Platform livelihoods refer to new ways of working, including gig work, e-commerce, and social commerce. While each is distinct, there are commonalities, as platforms, rather than employers, are at the core of each of these new ways of working.
The gig economy has taken root in Kenya, with urban areas leading the way. However, rural areas are playing catch-up, and it may take various actors, not just the platforms themselves, to make these systems more approachable and usable for people living in rural areas.
Participants in the research noted the resilience of long-standing gender dynamics in each of the four sectors, with males dominating most sectors. However, young Kenyan women are successfully navigating social commerce and even social agriculture.
The youth involved in platform practices do different jobs to sustain themselves in fractional work, which means more exertion for them, with one job barely enough to sustain them.
‘We widely observed evidence of complexities and blurring of fractional work. People marshalled their own resources, whether support from friends and family, assistance from otherwise invisible employees and helpers, or combinations of online and offline hustle to earn a living,’ observes the report.
‘The totality of somebody’s digital livelihood is rarely as simple as one profile reflected on one platform - underneath and behind that platform profile lie interconnected resources, trade-offs, obligations, and opportunities.’
In logistics, some of the most significant dilemmas are asset ownership, relationship to the platform, and platform work schedules. These disparities are displayed in the drivers’ earnings; some earn more than others.
‘These disparities are displayed in the drivers’ earnings; some earn more than others. Drivers enjoy some flexibility, although at a cost. For some, flexibility seems unattainable, especially when weighed against daily earnings, and drivers face pressure to always be online and swift to generate higher earnings,’ says the report.
