IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v15y2025i10p274-d1760698.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Emerging Gig Economy and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Desmond Ayentimi

    (College of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7001, Australia)

  • Albert Amankwaa

    (College of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, Hobart 7001, Australia)

  • John Burgess

    (Centre for Organisational Change and Agility, Torrens University, Adelaide 5001, Australia)

Abstract

Online work mediated by digital platforms is prevalent across various sectors, including food delivery, data entry, and professional services. Globally, gig work and the gig economy are growing with improved and increased Internet coverage and mobile phone sales. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is no exception as the online economy expands, albeit unevenly across the many countries in the region. Given that the region is afflicted by poverty, unemployment, and underemployment (especially for youth), low rates of female workforce participation, and a dominant informal economy where labour standards are absent, it is appropriate to consider whether the gig economy can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals linked to work. Drawing on secondary evidence, this review article considers the potential for the gig economy to contribute to jobs, income, employment standards, gender equity, and training and development. Despite the limited evidence from across the region and the evidence that many gig jobs are precarious and low-paid, it is suggested that gig working has the potential to contribute to the sustainable development of the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Desmond Ayentimi & Albert Amankwaa & John Burgess, 2025. "The Emerging Gig Economy and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Societies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-16, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:15:y:2025:i:10:p:274-:d:1760698
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/10/274/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/10/274/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kässi, Otto & Lehdonvirta, Vili, 2018. "Online labour index: Measuring the online gig economy for policy and research," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 241-248.
    2. Mohammad Amir Anwar & Mark Graham, 2020. "Hidden transcripts of the gig economy: labour agency and the new art of resistance among African gig workers," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(7), pages 1269-1291, October.
    3. Liao, Shu-Chun & Chou, Tzu-Chuan & Huang, Chen-Hao, 2022. "Revisiting the development trajectory of the digital divide: A main path analysis approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    4. Chatterjee, Santanu & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2018. "Remittances and the informal economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 66-83.
    5. Mark Graham & Isis Hjorth & Vili Lehdonvirta, 2017. "Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 135-162, May.
    6. Andrew Stewart & Jim Stanford, 2017. "Regulating work in the gig economy: What are the options?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(3), pages 420-437, September.
    7. Datta, Namita & Rong, Chen & Singh, Sunamika & Stinshoff, Clara & Iacob, Nadina & Nigatu, Natnael Simachew & Nxumalo, Mpumelelo & Klimaviciute, Luka, 2023. "Working Without Borders: The Promise and Peril of Online Gig Work," Jobs Group Papers, Notes, and Guides 32573393, The World Bank.
    8. Brian Fabo & Jovana Karanovic & Katerina Dukova, 2017. "In search of an adequate European policy response to the platform economy," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 163-175, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Uchiyama, Yosuke & Furuoka, Fumitaka & Md. Akhir, Md. Nasrudin, 2022. "Gig Workers, Social Protection and Labour Market Inequality: Lessons from Malaysia," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 56(3), pages 165-184.
    2. Graham, Mark & Alyanak, Oğuz & Bertolini, Alessio & Feuerstein, Patrick & Kuttler, Tobias & Ustek Spilda, Funda & Valente, Jonas, 2025. "Pressure and praise as an action research methodology: The case of Fairwork," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue OnlineFir, pages 1-15.
    3. S. Ramesh & C. Shobha, 2025. "Unequal gigs: developing a scale to measure socio-economic disparities among gig workers," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 52(3), pages 355-368, September.
    4. Behl, Abhishek & Jayawardena, Nirma & Ishizaka, Alessio & Gupta, Manish & Shankar, Amit, 2022. "Gamification and gigification: A multidimensional theoretical approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1378-1393.
    5. Davide Arcidiacono & Giorgio Piccitto, 2023. "Assessing Inclusivity Through Job Quality in Digital Plat‐Firms," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 239-250.
    6. Maite Blázquez & Ainhoa Herrarte & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2023. "Well-being effects of the digital platform economy. The case of temporary and self- employment," ThE Papers 23/05, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    7. Heiland, Heiner, 2020. "Workers' Voice in platform labour: An Overview," WSI Studies 21, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    8. Kuttler, Tobias, 2025. "Urban mobilities in Mumbai: Towards worker-centric platformisation beyond ‘urban solutionism’," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 62(9), pages 1750-1770.
    9. Won, Jongho & Lee, Daeho & Lee, Junmin, 2023. "Understanding experiences of food-delivery-platform workers under algorithmic management using topic modeling," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    10. Lisa Gussek & Alex Grabbe & Manuel Wiesche, 2023. "Challenges of IT freelancers on digital labor platforms: A topic model approach," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Tan, Zhi Ming & Aggarwal, Nikita & Cowls, Josh & Morley, Jessica & Taddeo, Mariarosaria & Floridi, Luciano, 2021. "The ethical debate about the gig economy: A review and critical analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    12. Davide Arcidiacono & Giorgio Piccitto, 2023. "Assessing Inclusivity Through Job Quality in Digital Plat‐Firms," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(4), pages 239-250.
    13. Paula McDonald & Penny Williams & Robyn Mayes & Maria Khan, 2024. "Income generation on care work digital labour platforms," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 358-380, June.
    14. Ensar Balkaya & İkram Yusuf Yarbaşı & Muhammed İkbal Tepeler, 2023. "Determinants of Demand in Digital Platform-Mediated Service Work in Turkey: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.
    15. Katarzyna Cieslik & Roland Banya & Bhaskar Vira, 2022. "Offline contexts of online jobs: Platform drivers, decent work, and informality in Lagos, Nigeria," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(4), July.
    16. Mohamed Mousa & Walid Chaouali & Monowar Mahmood, 2023. "The Inclusion of Gig Employees and their Career Satisfaction: Do Individual and Collaborative Job Crafting Play a Role?," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 1055-1068, September.
    17. John Burgess & Julia Connell, 2020. "New technology and work: Exploring the challenges," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(3), pages 310-323, September.
    18. Alex Veen & Tom Barratt & Caleb Goods, 2020. "Platform-Capital’s ‘App-etite’ for Control: A Labour Process Analysis of Food-Delivery Work in Australia," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(3), pages 388-406, June.
    19. Santana, Monica & Cobo, Manuel J., 2020. "What is the future of work? A science mapping analysis," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 846-862.
    20. Yang Shen, 2024. "Future jobs: analyzing the impact of artificial intelligence on employment and its mechanisms," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-33, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:15:y:2025:i:10:p:274-:d:1760698. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.