The Platform Livelihoods Project

Digital platforms are changing how individuals around the world find and do work, and how entrepreneurs, small enterprises and smallholder farmers connect with markets. The Platform Livelihoods Project, represented by the eleven studies appearing in this volume, set out to explore two broad questions: What are the experiences of individual workers and sellers as they rely on platforms to earn a living? and, What are the opportunities to improve those experiences? The project uses a frame significantly broader than 'gig work' alone, defining platform livelihoods as the ways people earn a living by working, trading, renting, and creating in digital marketplaces The Platform Livelihoods Project was coordinated by Caribou Digital, and involved more than 40 contributing authors and researchers, affiliated with institutions including: DFS Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology, Habitus Insight, inABLE, Kilimo Source, Lagos Business School, Learn.Ink, Northumbria University, Qhala, RISE (Riset Inovasi dan Edukasi) Indonesia, Story × Design, University of Ghana, and Value for Women. In aggregate, this project involved more than 700 qualitative interviews, 140 survey respondents, 70 expert interviews, 16 platform case studies, and 70 video profiles (mostly self-shot). These studies were conducted in Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Each interview and story is both a unique experience, and a glimpse into the experiences of millions more people around the world, earning a living on/in/via digital marketplaces and social media platforms.