NextBillion - A WDI Publication

What backing 52 startups over five years taught us about the future of work in Africa

​Since 2021, the Jobtech Alliance has held a rare vantage point on how digital platforms build livelihoods across Africa. We’ve worked hands-on with 52 startups through our venture support programme, and convened a community of more than 600 jobtech platforms. We’ve seen what works, what fails, and what keeps proving true no matter how much data we add.

​Out of all of it, ten lessons held up. We’re calling them the 10 Commandments of Jobtech. Read them here.

​Some will confirm what you already suspected. Others cut against the grain: why what makes a job feel “good” to a worker has little to do with pay or fairness, why a company with 100,000 users might have only 2,500 people earning a real living, why the strongest companies end up building the entire market rather than just matching within it, and whether blue-collar gig work can ever truly scale.

​Whether you build platforms, back them, research them, or you’re just curious how digital work actually functions on the continent, this is the clearest picture we can give you of what four years taught us.

Some of our confirmed speakers include:

1. Michelle Hassan – Program Director, Jobtech Alliance
2. Asha Mweru – Investor (CIFF), Jobtech (AMI, Women Work)
3. Paul Breloff – Jobtech (CEO, Shortlist), Investor
4. Rolake Rosiji – Jobtech (ex CEO Jobberman Nigeria, African Talent Company)
5. Yatin Nana – Jobtech (Product ex Moringa School, Harambee SA Youth)
6. Chris Maclay – Program Director, Jobtech Alliance
7. Jenn Cotter – Jobtech (Founder EdTech East Africa) – African Edtech (EdTech Hub)
8. Justin Norman – Founder, Producer and Host of The Flip
9. Sayo Folawiyo – Jobtech (Founder Kandua), Investor (Micro-Traction)
10. Amolo Ng’weno – Chair (BFA Global), Jobtech (ex Digital Divide Data)

Time: 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM EDT