Lead image for Kenya needs smart gig economy rules.
Unlike the traditional 9-to-5 workforce, today's worker is defined by flexibility. Picture a young motorcyclist navigating Nairobi's morning traffic with passengers before switching to food deliveries during the day and completing freelance tasks online in the evening before attending college classes.
This is not a vision of the future. It is the reality for an estimated 1.5 million Kenyans whose livelihoods are powered by digital platforms.
For decades, employment followed a familiar model: one employer, fixed working hours, a physical workplace and a monthly salary.
Kenya's labour laws were built around that reality. Technology has since transformed the labour market, giving rise to a dynamic platform economy now valued at an estimated Sh133 billion. Yet regulation has struggled to keep pace with this rapid change.
The central policy question is no longer whether digital platforms have transformed work, but how governments should regulate them. Should platform workers be treated as employees or independent contractors? The answer will shape the future of work, investment and innovation.
A significant milestone was reached at the 114th Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, where governments, employers and workers' representatives from more than 165 countries, including Kenya, adopted Convention No. 193 on Decent Work in the Platform Economy. Rather than prescribing a single model, the Convention gives countries the flexibility to develop solutions that reflect their own labour market realities.
For Kenya, this presents a unique opportunity. Instead of adopting rigid frameworks developed elsewhere, the country can build a regulatory model that protects workers while supporting innovation and economic growth.
Achieving this begins with understanding what the platform economy actually is. It is not a single industry but a diverse digital ecosystem comprising ride hailing, food delivery, courier services, e-commerce and global freelance marketplaces. At their core, these businesses are technology platforms that connect service providers with customers in real time.