Generation Kenya and Fiverr Partner to Support Nakuru Freelancers
Unemployment remains the greatest challenge affecting the youth in Kenya today, with the current youth unemployment rate as high as 35% (4.5 million young men and women) compared to the overall national unemployment rate of 10%, according to the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD). According to ILO, Youth Unemployment and under-employment result in missed economic growth and development opportunities. Increasing pressure on the labor markets can create social discontent and mental health issues if insufficient jobs are available for young women and men. However, the growing freelancing landscape led by platforms such as Fiverr provides youth opportunities to work and gain financial independence.
According to a recent report by Mercy Corps, the Kenya online gig economy employs 36,573 gig workers. This number is likely to increase as the Tech Report estimates that there are 1.57 billion freelancers globally. With such growing numbers of freelancers, especially in Kenya, collaboration is critical to supporting youth who continue to face systemic barriers. From the learning gathered by Generation Kenya since the inception of its Freelance-Admin Support Work program in 2022, key challenges affecting freelancers include a lack of essential tools like laptops, making it hard to work efficiently and compete globally. Reliable and affordable internet is still scarce in many areas, hindering freelancers’ ability to stay connected and complete their work on time and lack of a supportive freelance community.
In this recent event, dubbed future-proofing freelancers, advancing skills, Embracing AI, and building networks, Generation Kenya, with support from Fiverr and other partners such as the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), The Ezrah Charitable Trust and, Gitlab Foundation, and Livelihood Impact Fund in supporting freelancers, gathered over 200 freelancers in Nakuru County. This event emphasized enhancing skills, building a freelance community in Nakuru County, and creating awareness of well-being for freelancers. This event also looked at identifying emerging trends and AI in freelancing that are currently shaping the future of work in the freelance space. Expert Gig Economy Consultant Robert Muita emphasized the need for freelancers to continually upskill themselves, especially in freelance platform academies that are established by various freelancing platforms.
This event highlighted the importance of stakeholder collaboration in enhancing youth access to decent work, especially within the county governments. Generation Kenya has partnered with the County Government of Nakuru, which has provided freely a Digital training hub with computers that have enabled the youth to be trained in various skills, including transcription, translation, virtual assistance, graphic design, data entry & annotation, and social media marketing.
Since 2022, Generation Kenya has trained over 1,696 freelancers in Kenya, with 618 from Nakuru County. This program has significantly contributed to skill development and employment opportunities in Nakuru County and beyond. So far, since 2023, Nakuru DFP graduates have cumulatively earned more than Ksh 8,241,870 during the six-week apprenticeship phase. During this event, County Executive Committee Member for Education, ICT, e-Government, and Public Communication, Hon. Zipporah Wambui, committed to the governor’s opening more digital hubs in Nakuru County that will see more youth in Nakuru trained as freelancers. Generation Kenya has also partnered with local organizations such as the Kingdom Seekers Fellowship, which has significantly helped mobilize and support the youth. Generation Kenya continues to build strong collaborations with other partners, including Gitlab and Livelihood Impact Fund, which have been instrumental in supporting the Digital Freelancing program training.
As many youths aspire to join the freelance journey, it’s critical for stakeholders to join hands and support them to ensure that they earn well as freelancers and have a supportive and thriving community. Nakuru County freelancers are now empowered with new tasks and tools that will help them as they navigate the freelance space.
At Generation Kenya, our mission is to train, support, and place people into otherwise inaccessible career opportunities that can change their lives. Explore our employment programmes to see the professions we support, or donate today to help us create career opportunities for our learners!
By Nelson Komba
