Reading time: 8 - 11 minutes.
Africa’s gig economy is at a crossroads. It can either become a digital sweatshop—extracting labor and offering little in return—or a model for ethical, worker-driven innovation. But this requires urgent action: First, governments must step in—implementing enforceable minimum wages, health protections, and clear legal pathways for worker grievances. Second, platforms must be held accountable—big tech cannot continue profiting off African labor while offloading all risks onto workers. And third, gig workers must be recognized as workers—not “partners,” not “micro-entrepreneurs,” but employees with rights. Until these changes happen, the narrative of the gig economy as a tool of empowerment is nothing more than an illusion.
Africa’s story of labor exploitation did not begin with the gig economy, and it won’t end with it either. We are witnessing a digital rearticulation of the same forces that have historically shaped the continent’s economic structures—where foreign investment is prioritized over fair wages, and technology serves as a cover for worker exploitation.
But in this reconfiguration, there is also space for resistance. A driver in Lagos can rally colleagues on WhatsApp. A Kenyan freelancer can warn others about exploitative contracts. A South African delivery worker can push back against illegal deportations. These small acts of defiance are part of a larger fight—one that will determine whether Africa’s digital economy is built on empowerment or exploitation.
The next time you order a ride, a meal, or a remote task from an African worker, ask yourself: Who really profits? Because if we continue down this road unchecked, the answer will be the same as it was centuries ago—not the workers.