Webinar: Digital Labour Platforms on the African Continent

Limits and opportunities of competition law in protecting gig workers – part five of the Policy Roundtable Series.

Our Gig Economy Initiative hosted another event in the Gig Economy Webinar Series. The fifth roundtable on July 26 focused on the intersection of antitrust laws and digital labor platforms on the African continent.

Concerns about working conditions on digital labor platforms have recently led to numerous protests, while the increasing market dominance of certain platforms results in economic dependency of workers that makes them vulnerable to exploitation. If the rapid growth of these digital labor platforms initially presents opportunities for the continent, the question is what impact this will have on future innovation, market entry, and access to good jobs in the African market in the absence of regulation.

The event brought together experts from across the continent to explore the characteristics of the existing digital labor platform market, the impact of the dominant platform players , and the competitive challenges posed by the current system.

Speakers:

• Maria-José Schmidt-Kessen, Assistant Professor, CEU
• Bonnita Nyamwire, Head of Research, Pollicy Uganda
• Florence Abebe, Chief Legal Officer, Federal Competition
  & Consumer Protection Commission Authority Nigeria

Moderator:

• Vellah Kigwiru, Doctoral Fellow, Hochschule für Politik, TUM

The event served as a valuable complement to the competition module authored by Vellah Kigwiru, which is part of our comprehensive 8-module online course, The Rise and Economics of Digital Labor Platforms, on the rise and economics of digital labor platforms.

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