This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
Kenya's economy has long been informal, but the gig economy is filling the gaps and providing new revenue streams for millions of workers.
According to a report by Mercy Corps, the online gig economy in Kenya has grown significantly over the last decade, transforming how Kenyans access work and providing more accessible, competitive, and consistent job opportunities.
With the overall unemployment rate standing at 26.4%, the gig economy is increasingly providing alternative economic opportunities, shifting the access of work opportunities from informal to digital platforms.
As noted in the report 'Towards A Digital Workforce: Understanding The Building Blocks Of Kenya's Gig Economy', Kenya's high unemployment rate presents a particularly difficult labour market experience for job seekers, with 15-34 year-olds accounting for 84% of the unemployed.
The report highlights the need for more research on the size and impact of the gig economy in low- and middle-income countries, as this lack of knowledge limits investment in the development and growth of the gig economy and the ability of policymakers to understand the experiences of workers and employers.
The gig economy refers to a labour market characterized by independent workers who perform short-term or task-by-task work, paid by the task rather than a salary or hourly wage.
Online gig work falls into three categories: tech-intensive work requiring high digital skills, tech-dependent work requiring intermediate digital skills, and tech-enabled work requiring basic digital skills.
As Kenya's youth population continues to grow, the gig economy is providing new opportunities for young people to access work and earn a living.
