Platform Livelihoods

This report is part of a series of research studies on platform livelihoods—the ways many young Africans have begun to earn a living by working, trading, renting, or creating in digital marketplaces. Conducted in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, this study emphasizes listening to and documenting the stories of young people practicing each of these four elements, particularly their experiences and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic—their successes and their frustrations, their aspirations and their concerns.

This study spans eight diverse sectors, involving both formal marketplace and informal social media use. Caribou conducted interviews with 154 young people in Kenya working in these sectors: logistics (app-based delivery); e-commerce and social commerce by micro- and small enterprises; farming (with sales via digital platforms); the arts and creative industries (music and visual art); freelancing and microwork (digital services, delivered internationally); ride-hailing (carrying passengers in two or four wheelers); asset renting (fractionally letting rooms, properties, vehicles, and equipment); and trades and services (house and office cleaning, interior decor and fittings, and many skilled services).

The findings and the experiences of the young people pursuing platform livelihoods can be a useful input to improve the conversation and framing of both gig work and new forms of e-commerce as they are developing in Kenya and beyond.