Digital Labour Mirage: Dissecting Utopias in Africa's Gig Economy

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the multifaceted impacts of digital platformisation on labour markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on Rwanda, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Through extensive qualitative analysis comprising over 60 semi-structured interviews, organizational documents, and ethnographic observations, the study reveals complex dynamics of dispossession and agency as African workers navigate emerging digital economies. The dissertation consists of three interconnected papers. The first examines Rwanda's strategic efforts to equip youth with digital skills, highlighting both opportunities and risks of exacerbating inequality. The second paper explores how algorithmic management systems undermine worker autonomy across platform sectors, while also uncovering instances of strategic resistance. The final paper develops a nuanced typology of five platform worker categories, illuminating varied experiences of precarity and capability. Employing an integrated theoretical framework combining neo-Marxist and postcolonial perspectives, the analysis traces continuities between historical and contemporary regimes of accumulation that perpetuate asymmetric power relations. However, workers retain agency to contest constraints in innovative ways. The findings challenge techno-optimistic narratives by revealing concrete policy actions needed to promote equity and sustainability in Africa's digital labour markets. By foregrounding marginalized voices, this study advances critical scholarship on decent digital work and provides an empirical foundation for governance reforms fostering human-centered technological transitions in the Global South.