The Future of Work Won't Look Like a Job

04/13/23 • 44 min

The future of work in the African context is going to be a lot of different things. It mimics the nature of work itself for many individuals on the continent. They're taking this portfolio approach to work. Even in more "developed markets" we're seeing work become less formal and more flexible, as work becomes unbundled from employment. And this evolution of work itself provides a whole set of new challenges and opportunities.

So this episode is a retrospective on the entire season, in which we explore more of these questions about the future of work in this context. And joining The Flip's Justin Norman and Kandua's Sayo Folawiyo for this conversation is friend of The Flip, Chris Maclay, the Program Director for the Jobtech Alliance at Mercy Corps.

00:00 - Intro.
04:30 - Portfolio of work, earnings, stability, growth.
08:40 - Who gets to decide if a job is good or bad?
15:48 - Training, enablement, and platforms.
19:48 - The HustleOS and micro-franchising.
24:28 - The Future of Work is a portfolio of work.
29:54- Digital services for export.
32:57- Market sizing platform-enabled digital work.
41:39 - Should there have been an episode called The Future of Work is Universal Basic Income?

This season of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.

This season of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.

Previous Episode

The Role of Big Tech in the Future of Work

There is a perception that there's a tech talent shortage in the African tech ecosystem, and that it's hard to find high-quality local talent.

There has been lot of conversation around the impact and role of Big Tech in the equation, which many felt were also culprits in driving up the price of talent in local marketplaces. In an environment of talent scarcity, there's been an upward pressure on salaries for talent of a certain caliber - which Big Tech can more readily afford compared to startups.

And while the supply-demand equation may be changing a bit in the context of recent market downturns and layoffs, this talent question is an important one for the continued development of the tech ecosystem.

So while we hear a lot from startups and founders in this episode, we're going to get a different perspective from the Big Tech companies themselves.

00:00 - Intro, there is a perceived talent scarcity problem in the African tech ecosystem.
04:37 - We start with Google, and their Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Nitin Gajria.
05:38 - Google is investing $1 billion in Africa over 5 years.
08:16 - Catherine Muraga is the Managing Director of the Microsoft Africa Development Centre in Nairobi.
11:49 - Talent scarcity and compensation.
13:59 - The competition for talent is global.

This season of The Flip is sponsored by MFS Africa.

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Next Episode

Olugbenga 'GB' Agboola: Hard-Earned Lessons Building Flutterwave

Today's guest is Olugbenga Agboola, better known as the one and only GB - the Co-founder and CEO of Flutterwave.

It's been a trying last year or so for Flutterwave with issues of fraud, allegations of impropriety inside the company, regulatory hurdles, and the general challenges of scaling a fintech in a tough operating environment.

Yet through it all, Flutterwave has "technology reach" in 34 countries, they've continued to ship new products beyond their core payments technology, including their rebranded remittance product Send App, and there are rumors swirling about the near-term timeline of their planned IPO.

In this episode, we'll hear from GB about many of his recent lessons, his perspectives on product and expansion strategy, and we'll ask many of the questions we've been wanting to hear from him about, including the big one about Flutterwave's IPO.

00:00 - Intro
03:13 - When is Flutterwave going public?
04:56 - What about the allegations?
09:24 - Sharing more for the benefit of the ecosystem
11:17 - Growth and expansion
16:13 - Did Flutterwave grow too fast?
21:09 - Fundraising and the African growth story
27:11 - GB's angel investing activities
30:29 - Lessons from GB's banking and big tech background
32:08 - Why did GB start Flutterwave in the first place?
33:49 - Are payments still broken?
35:55 - The vision for the future
38:02 - Final words of wisdom