NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 3 — In the quiet hours before dawn, when most of the city is still asleep, Susan Cherono is already at work. Her clients are in the United States. Her shift follows their clock, not Nairobi’s. She answers calls, resolves complaints, processes requests and handles customer queries in real time, just as her counterparts in American call centres do. The systems she uses are the same. The scripts are similar. The expectations are identical. But while the work is the same, the pay is not.“I know for sure we earn less here compared to our counterparts in the US,” she says, pleading that we do not identify her employer for fear of losing her job. Susan works for a Nairobi-based outsourcing firm in Westlands serving overseas clients. “So I work nights, then during the day I run a small second-hand clothes business. That’s the only way I survive.”She said she earns KES 45,000 a month, while workers doing the same job in the United States are paid by the hour.“Why can’t we also be paid per hour?” she asked. “I am only doing this job because there are no better alternatives here. Otherwise, I would be much better off if I had the same opportunity in the US or Europe.”Susan added that she knows colleagues who have moved abroad to do similar work and are earning significantly more.“If I find the opportunity out there, I will jump for it, but it is not that easy,” she said. “I think the best thing is for these companies to just pay all of us the same regardless of where one is based, because the job is the same.”Her experience captures a defining paradox of the modern digital economy: it connects workers to global opportunities, but it does not equalise their earnings.Across Africa, a new class of workers is emerging, drivers, delivery riders, freelancers and remote service providers, who are integrated into global labour systems but remain on the margins of global pay structures. They are visible in numbers, but invisible in value.Behind every online task is a worker navigating low pay and high expectations.From Nairobi to Kampala, from Lagos to Johannesburg, millions are now plugged into platforms that promise flexibility, income and independence. Yet beneath that promise lies a growing divide between workers in the Global South and their counterparts in wealthier economies.A growing digital labour forceKenya offers one of the clearest illustrations of this shift.According to an Ipsos Kenya Gig Economy Report released in March 2026 in partnership with Bolt, which examined the economic realities, motivations and livelihood impact of platform-based work in Kenya, the sector is now valued at more than $1.02 billion, with approximately 1.5 million workers actively participating across ride-hailing, delivery services, freelancing and remote work platforms.The report indicates that gig work contributes about 0.85 percent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product, underscoring its growing significance within the country’s economic structure.This is not a marginal sector. It is a central pillar of Kenya’s evolving labour market.Across Africa, the same Ipsos report shows that ride-hailing alone accounts for 36 percent of gig work, making it one of the most dominant forms of platform-based employment.Same job, different pay: Africa’s digital workers power global platforms but earn far less.The rapid expansion of digital labour is closely tied to broader economic realities. With formal job creation struggling to keep pace with population growth, particularly among young people, digital platforms have emerged as an accessible entry point into the labour market. For many, they represent the first and sometimes only opportunity to earn a steady income.Yet behind this growth lies a more complex story, one of opportunity shaped by inequality.Same work, different rewardThe idea that digital labour would flatten global disparities has proven only partly true. While it has opened access to work, it has not equalised compensation.In the United States, gig economy pay varies widely, but independent contractors earn a median of about $25 per hour, rising to nearly $39 per hour in specialised fields. Temporary workers earn roughly between $15 and $19 per hour depending on industry and skill level.By contrast, gig work in Kenya, though growing rapidly, offers significantly lower returns for comparable work. More than 1.5 million people are engaged across platforms such as Bolt, Uber, Glovo and Upwork, but earnings vary sharply depending on the type of work, skill level and hours worked.Experienced virtual assistants earn between KES 1,000 and KES 3,000 per hour. Web designers and tech support professionals earn between KES 1,500 and KES 3,000 per hour, while high-end technical assignments on international platforms can fetch between $35 and $60 per hour. Freelance writers average about KES 400 per hour, although top-tier writers can exceed KES 2,500 per hour on global platforms.Even with these variations, the gap is clear. At prevailing exchange rates, similar gig work in the United States often pays nearly double or more than in Kenya.For ride-hailing drivers in Nairobi, this disparity is experienced in even more immediate and practical terms.John Nyongesa, 32, has been working across multiple platforms, including Uber, Bolt and Little Cab. His approach is to maximise availability in order to increase earnings.“For someone to make meaningful income, you have to work more hours and be on all the platforms,” he explains. “If you rely on one app, you cannot survive.”But even that strategy has limits.After factoring in fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, insurance, and platform commissions, Nyongesa says the net income is often far lower than expected.“These companies need to reduce the commission percentage,” he says. “After all the expenses, we are left with very little.”The cost of platform workBolt Kenya, for instance, charges an 18 percent commission on the base trip price for drivers. This fee applies to both cash and card payments but excludes tips, bonuses and toll charges.From April 2025, a 16 percent Value Added Tax was introduced on this commission under the VAT (Electronic, Internet and Digital Marketplace Supply) Regulations, 2023. These provisions require platforms to collect and remit VAT on digital services, effectively increasing the deductions associated with each trip.While the tax is applied to the commission rather than directly to driver earnings, drivers say the cumulative effect contributes to reduced take-home income.Bolt, however, maintains that its pricing reflects local economic realities rather than global parity.“Earnings differ across markets due to variations in the cost of living, demand patterns, and local economic conditions,” the company said in response to queries. “Our approach is to ensure pricing is locally relevant and competitive, balancing rider affordability with sustainable earning opportunities for drivers.”The company added that it continuously monitors market dynamics to ensure fairness within each local context rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model globally.For many drivers, however, fairness remains a matter of lived experience rather than policy explanation.Flexibility versus securityOne of the most attractive features of the gig economy is flexibility. Workers can choose when to log in, how long to work, and which jobs to accept.But that flexibility comes with significant trade-offs.Most platform workers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, meaning they are not entitled to benefits such as health insurance, paid leave, pensions or income guarantees.Bolt acknowledges this distinction.“Drivers on the Bolt platform are independent partners, not employees, which gives them the flexibility to choose when and how they work,” the company said. “We are focused on improving the overall driver experience through better marketplace conditions, earning opportunities, and partnerships that can add value.”Yet for many workers, the absence of social protections remains a critical concern.Lucy Nyambura, who has been a driver in Nairobi for two years, says her earnings depend almost entirely on the number of hours she puts in.“The only time I make more money is when I work longer hours,” she says. “The vehicle is mine, I service it, I have a loan to pay, but what I am left with after deductions is too little.”Her experience reflects a broader structural reality: flexibility without security.A system under strainAcross the region, similar patterns are emerging.In Uganda, drivers report high operating costs and limited returns. Delivery riders across cities face not only financial pressure but also safety risks, often operating in environments without adequate infrastructure or protection.Workers also describe limited bargaining power, with some saying that attempts to push for better conditions can result in reduced access to platform opportunities.Despite these challenges, the gig economy continues to expand.The Ipsos Kenya Gig Economy Report [ March 2026] found that 53 percent of ride-hailing drivers in Kenya rely on platform work as their primary source of income—significantly higher than in Nigeria and South Africa.This underscores a critical shift: gig work is no longer supplementary. It is central to livelihoods.Policy response and the regulatory gapAs the sector grows, policymakers are increasingly under pressure to respond.Kenya’s National Policy on Business Process Outsourcing positions digital labour as a key driver of economic transformation, highlighting opportunities in global outsourcing, remote work and digital services.At the same time, the policy acknowledges gaps in labour protections, regulatory frameworks and worker safeguards.Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime says the government is working on a draft policy informed by international best practices.“There is a study that was conducted by the International Labour Organization which made several recommendations,” he said. “We have developed a draft policy and are welcoming contributions from all players.”The policy seeks to formalise aspects of digital labour, promote fair working conditions and integrate gig workers more effectively into the broader economy.However, implementation remains a challenge.For many workers already operating within the gig economy, the pace of reform has not matched the speed of platform growth. The gap between policy intent and everyday reality continues to widen.Kenya’s opportunity—and contradictionThe government views digital labour as a pathway to economic transformation.With a labour force exceeding 23 million people and youth unemployment remaining high, digital platforms offer a scalable solution for job creation.Kenya’s BPO strategy positions the country as a competitive outsourcing hub, leveraging a young, educated workforce, strong English proficiency and expanding digital infrastructure.The global BPO market, valued at over $300 billion, presents significant opportunity.But within that opportunity lies a contradiction.Kenya’s competitiveness in the global digital economy is partly driven by lower labour costs.This raises a fundamental question: can the country build a sustainable digital economy while remaining a low-cost labour destination?For workers, the answer is deeply personal.A borderless economy with limitsThe digital economy is often described as borderless. But for workers, borders still matter.An African worker can serve a client in New York or London, but their pay remains tied to their local economy.The work is global. The compensation is local.Bolt sees the future of the sector as one of continued growth and gradual structuring.“Ride-hailing in Africa is expected to continue growing as an important part of the urban mobility ecosystem,” the company said. “We anticipate a more structured and sustainable ecosystem supported by technology, partnerships, and regulatory development, while maintaining flexibility.”That evolution may take time.For now, the imbalance remains.Workers carry the risks. Platforms scale. Consumers benefit from lower costs.For Susan, the stakes are immediate.“I am working two jobs and sleeping just a few hours,” she says. “All I want is a fair chance.”Her words echo across a continent powering a global digital economy that has yet to deliver equal rewards for equal work.