Unseen, Unsafe, Unprotected: Africa's AI Gig Economy at #FIFAfrica25
- Mina Bilkis
- 59 minutes ago
- 3 min read
This year, the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (#FIFAfrica25) took place in Windhoek, Namibia from September 24-26 2025. The 3-day event was hosted by the Collaboration of International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in partnership with Namibian Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) and the Namibia Internet Governance Forum (NamIGF).
FIFAfrica brings together experts, activists, thought leaders, technologists, media professionals, and a wide range of stakeholders from across Africa and beyond to discuss gaps, challenges, and opportunities in advancing digital rights and internet governance. The forum aims to promote privacy, freedom of expression, inclusion, the free flow of information, civic participation, and online innovation.
The world is changing, and so is the way we access information, communicate, and interpret data. In the digital age, it is essential that the human rights afforded to us in real life also extend to cyberspace, and that is what digital rights are about.
I had the utmost privilege, alongside my colleagues, to co-create and present at the final-day session entitled “Unseen, Unsafe and Unprotected: Addressing the Human Cost of Africa's AI Gig Economy.”
Our session brought together African voices from Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, spanning the gig economy, content moderation, tech accountability, and feminist digital safety. We highlighted the often invisible labor that sustains the digital world. With AI rapidly transforming work and governance, African workers, especially women, youth and marginalized communities, face unsafe conditions, precarious livelihoods and systemic digital exclusion.
The session opened with our moderator Nyawira Wahito, Executive Director of Resource Center for Women and Girls (RCWG) in Machakos, Kenya, who emphasized that this conversation was not just about technology but about dignity, justice, and safety for African workers, particularly women, youth, and marginalized communities. Participants were invited to reflect on their initial impressions of Africa’s AI gig economy, revealing a mix of hope, concern, and recognition of exploitative practices.
Xoliswa Sitengile, a recent South African graduate who is interning at Cyberlogic shared her personal journey navigating the tech and gig economy. Despite a proactive approach, including participating in hackathons, international competitions, and building a strong portfolio, Xoliswa struggled to secure stable employment. She recounted the challenges posed by algorithmic hiring, where entry-level jobs required years of experience, and the mental toll of rejections, burnout, and underrepresentation. “Even with all my efforts, I felt my work and qualifications were not enough,” she said. Xoliswa urged for more funded pathways, graduate mentorship programs, and work-integrated learning initiatives to bridge the gap between education and employment, alongside mental health support to help young workers navigate the stress of job insecurity.
Kings Korodi, a former content moderator from Kenya working with Techworker Community Africa highlighted the hidden and often traumatic nature of content moderation work. Moderators are tasked with policing online spaces and making critical decisions about what content is allowed, frequently encountering graphic and disturbing material. The mental toll is immense, with risks of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Pay is low, averaging between $2–$5 per hour, and psychological support is rarely provided. Kings shared how African content moderators are forming unions, such as the African Content Moderators Union, to advocate for mental health resources, fair compensation, and worker representation.
Waraola Taiwo of Co-Creation Hub in Nigeria then guided the discussion into systemic challenges faced by gig workers. She highlighted vulnerabilities including payment insecurity, opaque contracts, employer surveillance, and the lack of legal safeguards. Waraola emphasized how many African gig workers provide critical data that fuels AI systems, yet remain unrecognized, underpaid, and unprotected. She made a compelling case for African-led ethical AI standards, trauma-informed platforms, and cooperative digital models that prioritize worker safety and well-being.
When it was my turn, I focused on a feminist and inclusive approach to digital labor. I discussed how online threats such as gender-based violence, harassment, and censorship disproportionately affect women and marginalized groups, often forcing self-censorship and limiting participation. I highlighted the need for people-centered policies that prioritize safety, mental health, and empowerment, showing that protections for women ultimately benefit all workers.
As the session concluded, participants and panelists envisioned a safe Pan-African digital space that is unionized, rights-oriented, transparent, and accountable. Such a space would center African voices in the governance of digital platforms while ensuring ethical standards, mental health support, and inclusion. We closed with a reminder that if Africa trains the world’s AI, our rights must be protected.
This session reinforced for me that Africa’s gig economy has immense potential, but it will only thrive if workers’ safety, dignity, and voices are at the center. It underscored the need for collective action, ethical regulation, and innovative approaches that place humans, not just technology, at the heart of the digital economy.
🎥 Watch the full session here on YouTube: Unseen, Unsafe, Unprotected: Addressing the Human Cost of Africa's AI Gig Economy