ExpressTasker

Grow Together Youth Alliance (GroTYA)

ExpressTasker

ExpressTasker: Unlocking dignified work for Africa’s informal workforce

Kampala

UGA

For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models

In Africa, millions of skilled workers struggle to find reliable job opportunities due to fragmented labor markets, lack of digital visibility, and reliance on informal networks. With over 80% of employment in sub-Saharan Africa classified as informal, many workers depend on word-of-mouth to secure gigs, leading to unstable income, inconsistent work, and economic insecurity. At the same time, customers seeking local services face significant challenges—from difficulty finding skilled providers to uncertainty about pricing, trust, and quality assurance. Without a structured system to connect service providers with customers, hiring remains inefficient, costly, and unreliable. This issue extends globally, with over 2 billion people engaged in informal work (ILO, 2023). In many emerging economies, the gig economy remains underdeveloped due to barriers like lack of digital tools, high platform fees, and limited access to financial services. In Uganda, where mobile money transactions account for over 50% of financial activity, most informal workers lack access to bank-based platforms, further excluding them from digital job opportunities. Without a scalable, accessible solution to bridge skilled workers and customers, millions remain trapped in economic instability, limiting both individual prosperity and broader economic growth.

ExpressTasker operates as a mobile-based digital platform that links professional service providers with customers who need dependable local work. It provides informal workers like plumbers, electricians, and cleaners with access to verified job listings without them needing to depend on word-of-mouth networks. The platform consists of a customer and a service provider app. When a customer creates a service request, service providers whose skillsets match the request receive a notification with the what, the when, the where, and the how much. Then, interested providers spend credits to access customer information and contact them. ExpressTasker has been built with the informal African context in mind. For instance: • bargaining is deeply ingrained in many African cultures, especially in markets and informal settings. So, ExpressTasker has incorporated negotiation-friendly features. Customers state their budget knowing it’s just a ballpark from which service providers can begin to negotiate prices, which creates fair dynamic pricing based on real market conditions. • ExpressTasker is integrating mobile money transaction gateways such as MTN MoMo, Airtel Money and M-Pesa to facilitate payments because mobile money is the dominant e-payment mechanism on the continent, especially among the unbanked, which a lot of people in the informal economy in Africa are.

ExpressTasker serves informal workers and gig economy service providers in Africa—such as plumbers, hairdressers, babysitters, and saxophonists—who struggle to find consistent job opportunities due to reliance on word-of-mouth. Despite the rapid increase in smartphone adoption and internet usage in Africa—where smartphone penetration is projected to reach 88% by 2030—these highly skilled workers are digitally invisible, limiting their ability to secure stable income. ExpressTasker also serves customers—individuals and businesses—who face difficulties in finding, vetting, and hiring trusted service providers. Many rely on referrals or social media, leading to inconsistencies in quality, and availability. For customers, ExpressTasker is completely free to use, ensuring broad accessibility. Most existing job platforms are designed for a Global North audience, where bank-based transactions are the norm. However, in Africa, millions of people depend on mobile money instead of traditional banking, making many of these platforms inaccessible. Additionally, they do not accommodate bargaining, a key cultural preference in Africa. ExpressTasker takes these barriers into account by offering a mobile-first platform where service providers can access verified job leads without costly subscriptions. The integration of mobile money and price negotiation helps workers earn more while making hiring faster and more reliable for customers.