Fairwork Kenya Ratings 2021: Labour Standards in the Gig Economy

The first annual Fairwork Kenya report presents a snapshot of a fast-growing platform economy, underpinned by a young population, a large informal sector, rapid digitalisation and Kenya’s position as a global hub of technological innovation. The Fairwork Kenya 2021 ratings evaluate the working conditions of nine platforms operating in Kenya—namely Bolt, Glovo, InDriver, Jumia, Little Cab, SweepSouth, Uber, Uber Eats, and Wasili.

The platform economy is poised to offer a solution to a constrained local labour market in Kenya, but as the Fairwork scores in this report show, the practices of digital labour platforms currently fall far short of offering minimum rights and protections to workers. For digital labour platforms to truly contribute to tackling youth unemployment and driving inclusive growth in Kenya, their shortfalls in labour standards must be addressed.

This first Fairwork Kenya report provides a resource to all stakeholders in working towards a dynamic platform economy rooted in minimum standards of fairness.

The Fairwork project launched its research activities in Kenya in 2021, led by researchers at Qhala Ltd., in collaboration with the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at the University of Oxford, and the WZB Berlin Social Science Centre.

A more accessible version of the report is also available.