Navigating platform work through solidarity and hustling: the case of ride-hailing drivers in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Purpose Scholarship about worker precarity, economic insecurity, and individualized risk in platform work tends to ignore that these trends are common features of informal economies in countries like Kenya, which has a culture of hustling rooted in economic opportunism and political resistance. Recognizing the parallels between the platform economy and Kenya’s informal economy, we examine individual and collective strategies ride-haling drivers in Kenya use to navigate the precarity of platform work. Methodology This study draws primarily from interviews with 30 ride-hailing drivers working in Nairobi, Kenya. Interview data is supplemented by two rounds of in-person fieldwork conducted by the first author who solicited rides, engaged in unstructured conversations with drivers, and kept detailed notes. Findings Although ride-hailing companies severely limit opportunities for driver autonomy and labor power, drivers engaged in several individual and collective acts of resistance to increase their income and wrestle back control from their employers. These acts of resistance include extending rides, adding customers outside of the app, asking riders to cancel requests, and striking. Implications While ride-hailing platforms exert significant control over drivers’ working conditions and income, drivers can exercise labor power through acts of resistance based on hustling and solidarity. These acts of resistance rely heavily on solidarities among drivers as well as between drivers and riders. Value This study answers calls to de-Westernize platform studies by asking what Kenyan ride-hailing drivers can teach the rest of the world about navigating the precarity of global platform work. Our findings extend previous research on platform worker resistance in the Global South by introducing the importance of solidarities between platform workers and clients.