Online Jobs in Kenya

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The Digital economy is transforming how Kenyans access work and is transitioning youth towards more accessible, flexible and competitive job opportunities.

The online gig economy has gradually grown in Kenya, and according to ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, 1.2 million Kenyans are working online through the Ajira Digital Program.

“Our June 2021 National study on digital and digitally-enabled work & awareness of the Ajira Digital Program in Kenya established that 5% of the adult population in Kenya are digital workers, which translates to 1.2 Million Kenyans,” CS Mucheru said.

Mercy Cops, which has also conducted a report on the digital gig economy in Kenya, defines the gig economy as; a labour market that is characterized by three features:

1. the worker is independent;
2. the work is short-term in nature, where the gig worker performs work on a short-term or task-by-task basis; and
3. the worker is paid by the task as opposed to those workers who receive a salary or hourly wage.

Top Online Jobs in Kenya

According to the Ministry of ICT, Digital Marketing (22 percent), Data Entry (21 percent) and Academic Paper Writing (20 percent) are top the jobs Kenyans are doing online.

There has also been an increase in Virtual Assistant services.

How to position yourself to tap into online jobs in Kenya;

Upskill: Upskilling is the process of acquiring advanced skills through additional education and training. Some of these emerging online jobs will require you to enroll in a course to learn how to do them.

There are various organizations in Kenya that are providing training on digital marketing and Data entry.  These include Oracom Solutions. You can also enroll for courses online in platforms such as Coursera. The government has also been offering free training through the Ajira Digital Programme.

Network: As the popular old saying goes; “your network is your net worth”. Networking is quite crucial in today’s marketplace. It’s through networking that you will learn of opportunities and how to plug-in, as well as get referrals and recommendations.

One of the ideal places you can network in today’s flexible work environment is in a co-working space, where you get to met and connect with a diverse pool of professionals.

Rate Cards: The gig economy also requires you to know the rates of the services you plan to offer. By doing market research, you are able to understand the market rates, which will hep you when it comes to quoting for your services without underquoting or even over quoting.

Research: It’s important to identify some of the platforms where online jobs are listed as well as map out some of the popular opportunities. Some of these platforms include Ajira Digital, Appen, Tuhustle among others.