By Jared Adema, Jobtech Alliance Results Measurement Lead

This is part one of a two-part series about our approach to growing the jobtech ecosystem in Africa. Part 2 about our evolved community model is here.

As an ecosystem-building initiative, we take a systems change approach to ensure that jobtech interventions extend beyond isolated solutions, contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive jobtech sector as we work to transform youth employment in Africa. We have embedded systems change principles into everything we do, enabling us to identify blind spots in our activities and workstreams and take a more comprehensive approach. These principles are:

What stands out?

The Jobtech Alliance was built on a principle of collaborative engagement — you can’t build an ecosystem by putting yourself at the center of it. Since day one, we’ve been guided by a steering group of independent experts, working on behalf of a member-based community of over 150 jobtech platforms across Africa, and responding to the emerging needs of our community.

After identifying the principles above, we realized that ‘Get everyone in. Do the work together’ was the principle that was guiding our approach more than any other. This principle drives Jobtech Alliance to not only work independently but also engage with and learn from stakeholders within the ecosystem, fostering a collaborative jobtech sector.

What does implementing this principle look like in practice? Here are a few examples:

• Working with The Flip: Partnering with Africa’s leading start-up podcast on the Future of Work series marked a shift from producing content in-house to embracing a collaborative approach. This allowed for editorial freedom, strategic alignment with sector players, and leveraging domain expertise to develop knowledge products. As a result, we significantly increased awareness and understanding around jobtech and the future of work, reaching over 28,000 people — a larger audience far beyond what we could have achieved through our own channels. We were able to reach key stakeholders in the start-up space, as well as interest from donors and investors eager to engage further.
  
• Measurement in Jobtech Working Group: After developing an initial tool for measuring the quality of work on jobtech platforms, we recognized the need for co-development and shared ownership of such tools by key stakeholders. This realization led to the formation of the Measurement in Jobtech Working Group, which comprises leading experts, thought leaders, and funders dedicated to improving the measurement of jobtech’s impact on users The group seeks to co-create and co-own open-source standardized measurement practices for accountability, comparability, efficiency, collaboration, and innovation within the sector, for the sector’s overall growth. If you’re interested in joining, please let us know.
  
• Jobtech for Refugees Community of Practice: Recognizing a gap in collaboration among stakeholders developing jobtech solutions for refugees, we established a collaborative learning community, the Jobtech for Refugees Community of Practice (COP). Rather than hosting the COP alone, we partnered with Na’amal, a refugee training institution, to form a steering group to ensure that the COP effectively addresses key issues in understanding and implementing jobtech solutions for refugees. This collaborative effort has led to the production of learning webinars and joint research.
  
• Collaborating around Gender Research: After developing our Gender and Jobtech Landscape Scan, we actively engaged with other organizations that had recently published gender-focused research. We partnered with World Bank’s S4YE which had released a report on Women and Online Gig Work, Fairwork had published a report on Gender & Platform Work, and Qhala had produced a range of content on the topic. Together, we hosted a collaborative event to share learnings from across organizations. This approach brought in a more diverse range of perspectives, enriching the conversation and broadening the impact of gender research in the jobtech space.

What’s next?

These are just a few examples of what it means to ‘Get everyone in and do the work together.’ We always seeking opportunities to advance the jobtech sector in Africa. We’d love to hear from you about potential ways we could collaborate.