It is 10pm in Nairobi, the hour when most of Kenya’s eight‑to‑five workforce is shutting down for the day.

Familiar rituals of rest begin, phones set to charge and alarms set for the morning, but for Franc Otieno, work is just beginning.

As his neighbourhood of Kariobangi, one of the city’s oldest housing schemes, settles into silence, Otieno positions himself at a small desk in the corner of his room, laptop open, eyes fixed on the glow of the screen.

A cup of strong tea sits within reach to wade off sleep.

He logs into several online work platforms, scanning job listings posted by outsourcing firms and clients thousands of kilometres away.

Somewhere in the United States, Europe or Asia, it is still business hours. Somewhere, a client might be looking for a freelancer to complete a task before their own day ends. Otieno hopes to be ready when that moment comes.

“It is usually a bidding process; the faster you are, and the higher your ranking, the more likely you are to get at least a single job,” he says.

This nocturnal routine has become his reality. While much of the country sleeps, he is actively pursuing online gigs, data entry, content moderation, transcription, digital research any task that can be completed remotely.

The work is competitive, the deadlines tight, but at least he is putting food on his table. That’s no mean feat in an economy battling with a high unemployment rate, especially among the youth (15- to 34-year-olds), where it is about 67 per cent, according to the Federation of Kenya Employers.

A national study conducted in 2023 found that 1.2 million Kenyans — about five per cent of the adult population in Kenya — are working online, connected to platforms that bridge local talent with global demand

“I work when others are asleep because that’s when the jobs appear. When I finished college, it was the work I had to run to,” Otieno says.

“The global digital economy does not follow Kenyan time. Most clients post work during their daylight hours, which often coincide with Kenya’s late evenings or early mornings,” Otieno said in an exclusive interview with this writer.

To stay competitive, he has learned to adapt his body clock to the rhythm of distant economies.

For all these hustles, he does it for about $4 (Sh520) per page done and approved.

Through the online hustle, Otieno says sleep is the first sacrifice, averaging four to five hours a night, often broken into short naps. The rest is replaced by caffeine and determination.

He knows the toll this takes and the mental fog that comes with long hours in front of a screen. But logging off early could mean missing out on a gig that pays the rent. 

FORMALISING THE SECTOR

Anne Akinyi has a similar story. Since her graduation from a local university, she has has been majorly translating and transcribing for the large search engines that are looking to incorporate local languages into their models.

“I used to translate for one of the search engines when they were looking to incorporate the Luo language into their offerings for the local market,” she said.

“For photo verification, which could come once or twice a week, I used to do and it earned around $0.8 (Sh100) per photo. So by the end of the night, I sometimes make up to $23 (Sh3,000) for a whole night.”

Not only is Akinyi undertaking the transcription jobs to make more money, she has also had to shift to online surveys, earning her between $5 (Sh650) to $10 (Sh1300) each night for the tasks.

The gig economy, characterised by flexible, short-term tasks facilitated through digital platforms, is a major source of employment in the global labour market.

The economy is valued at about $455 billion (Sh59 trillion) globally, accounting for around 1.25 billion workers, or 15-20 per cent of the global workforce.

This sector is expected to grow substantially, with its value projected to reach $873 billion by 2025 as more people transition to digital work platforms. 

Kenya’s ICT and Digital Economy PS John Tanui told the Star that works are underway to fully formalise the sector to give workers like Akinyi and Otieno better chance and recognise their working conditions.

“We, as a country, are looking to formalise this emerging sector. There are quite a number of laws that we are looking at, like on health and safety, and who will be responsible in case you are injured while doing this work,” the PS said.

While some workers like ride-hailing drivers or delivery workers are visible on Kenyan streets, others operate invisibly behind screens, completing micro-tasks for clients around the world.

The online work offers flexibility and access to a global market that would otherwise be out of reach. For Otieno, it represents both survival and aspiration.

Across Kenya, thousands of young people are quietly working through the night, connected by fibre optic cables and shared ambition.

They form the invisible workforce powering parts of the global digital economy, such as labelling data for artificial intelligence systems, moderating online content, answering customer service queries and completing micro tasks that keep platforms running smoothly. 

NO PROTECTIONS

The Mercy Corps and Digital Economy Task Force estimates that Kenya’s gig economy was valued at around $109 million (Sh14 billion) and employed more than 36,000 workers as of 2019.

By 2022, the data by the Ministry of Digital Economy shows that about 2 million Kenyans were undertaking the online jobs.

Despite the massive job done by these online workers, Kenya’s Employment Act of 2007, Labour Relations Act (2007) and OSHA Act (2007) have not fully been modernised to cater to gig workers.

They have not been recognised as formal employees, excluding them from protections including minimum wage and safe working environment.

Without legal frameworks recognising digitally enabled jobs, many workers struggle to challenge unfair pay.

The law in Kenya puts most digital workers under the categorisation as independent contractors rather than employees, which means they frequently go without formal contracts.

They also don’t have guaranteed wages, social protections or benefits such as maternity leave for women or and health insurance benefits like counselling for those exposed to harm, like reviewing bloody images.

With the push to implement the frameworks meant to save Kenya’s online workers, policy makers are urging the East African country to benchmark with the Indian labour reforms that have moved to improve the social security benefits for gig workers.

Kenya is already pushing for amendments to the labour Laws Amendments Bill to align with the international labour organisations.

If implemented, the reforms could improve gig workers benefits but also add states’ labour costs that will force companies to rethink how they value labour.

The proposals are contained in the Labour Laws Amendment Bill, Kenya’s National BPO policy for 2025 and the global labour policy discussions that were led by the ILO.

According to Jobs Guru Africa’s latest survey, Nairobi accounts for 70.83 per cent of all freelance respondents, making it the clear leader in Kenya’s digital talent economy.Kiambu comes second with 6.25 per cent, then Kilifi and Nakuru with 4.17 per cent, and 2.08 per cent each from Mombasa, Machakos, Migori, Meru, Nyeri, Murang’a and Kericho.

UNION IN THE WORKS

Freelancing is growing fast in urban areas, but there’s massive untapped potential across Kenya. The future of work must be inclusive, remote-ready and regionally supported.

In practice, rising living costs, unstable exchange rates and limited job security erode that advantage. Internet bundles, electricity, rent and food consume most of Otieno’s earnings, leaving little room for savings.

Industry experts from the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis say digital workers like Akinyi and Otieno are excluded under the labour law from benefits like minimum wage protections and workplace safety standards.

Their stories rarely make headlines as the work is fragmented and often anonymous, designed to be invisible.

Yet it demands concentration, discipline and resilience. A single mistake can lead to a poor rating and a poor rating can mean fewer job offers. For Otieno, every task completed is both income and reputation.

Morning to him signals rest. He draws the curtains to block out the sunlight and lies down, knowing he will soon repeat the cycle.

Otieno understands the imbalance of the system he works within, but he also understands its possibilities. Each gig adds to his experience, each dollar brings him closer to stability.

Failure of legal frameworks has seen gig workers often lack income security and benefits such as pensions and health insurance.

Kenyan government policy think tank Kippra (Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis) says gig workers lack a clear career path and compensation is inconsistent.

This lack of formal recognition has seen about 14 per cent of gig workers earn less than the minimum wage, according to a 2024 study by US Economic Policy Institute. 

Central Organisation of Trade Unions secretary general Francis Atwoli said that they are streamlining the sector and finalising the operations of a union that will address the concerns of online workers.

“Though the registration is slow, they have a union that will now begin addressing some of these needs. And put in place the work conditions that we expect for them,” he said.

The move ranks Kenya among the few countries not only pushing reliance on online jobs to cut employment but driving towards sustainability and decency in the job offerings.

This article is part of the Work Reimagined Story Lab initiative by Ford Foundation’s Africa No Filter