Selection Kenya
FUNDIS
FUNDIS is a web and mobile-based digital platform that enables customers to find and hire competent and vetted artisans at home, at work, and anywhere in between. The platform connects workers to decent and regular job opportunities while eliminating the inefficiencies that employers experience in finding and hiring workers in Africa. Our consortium project with the Kenya Association of Certified Training Providers for Industry (KACET) aims to upskill, certify, and link 1500 informal sector artisans to employment.
The Problem
Unemployment is the issue of our times in Africa. The African Development Bank estimates that for every four young people joining the labour market, only one formal sector job is available. Consequently, young job seekers turn to the informal sector to make ends meet. In particular, Kenya’s informal sector has created over 80% of all the new jobs in the last decade. Be that as it may, it is highly fragmented. The sector lacks efficient access points, is associated with poor quality of goods and services, is known for low wages, and has little to non-existent social protection for the workers. Approximately 50% of the informal workers are engaged in unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled trades and crafts, mainly through apprenticeship. As a result, there is no standardization in the skills and work output, a problem that our consortium aims to cure.
FUNDIS aims to shift the access to work opportunities from informal to digital platforms offering workers new revenue streams, creating more stability, and formalizing work conditions.
The Solution
Our approach has two parallels. Firstly, we are identifying 500 artisans who are self-employed, who will be upskilled and supported to become durable service businesses. Secondly, another 1000 artisans will be upskilled and placed in employment. All the artisans will be assessed for existing knowledge and skills gaps and subsequently upskilled using an accredited curriculum. Through the FUNDIS platform, they will have timely access to decent work, insurance, loans, tools, gears, savings, and investment opportunities.
This project aims to use the FUNDIS technology platform to inspire goodwill between employers and workers, a trust experience that rarely exists in the informal sector in Africa. It enables employers to enjoy convenience and reliability in finding and hiring competent workers at the simple tap of a button. Simultaneously, young job seekers reduce the time spent searching for work.
