Economic Geographies of Digital Work in Africa

Abstract

Workers perform a diverse range of digital economy activities both in BPOs and on platforms. This chapter provides a snapshot of how and where these diverse work activities get done in Africa, showing that African workers remain very much a part of contemporary digital capitalism. They perform a wide range of digital work activities from diverse locations—from an office block in the centre of a lively metropolis, to a makeshift room in a town recovering from civil war, as well as a multitude of bedrooms, cafes, and libraries across the continent. In summary, this chapter offers a visual and descriptive outline of the various types of digital activities being performed in newer spaces that are connecting to the global information economy. In doing so, it asks what types of work get done in Africa, and what that means for value creation and capture.