“There is no future in it”: Pandemic and ride-hailing hustle in Africa

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ride-hailing drivers in Africa. It argues that, although ride-hailing offers paid work to some African workers, the commodified and informalized nature of this work results in poor job quality, the effects of which were greatly amplified during the pandemic. Drawing on a mixed methods approach involving in-depth interviews with ride-hailing drivers in Nairobi and digital ethnography, it also provides accounts of drivers' hustles to demonstrate strategies of resilience, reworking and resistance among informal workers. The article concludes by highlighting the need for adequate regulatory frameworks and on-the-ground solidarity networks to ensure decent working conditions, and to push back against precarity in the gig economy.