🔮 Our 2026 crystal ball

It’s that time of year when we look into our little crystal ball and make some jobtech predictions. While geopolitical turmoil elsewhere means that Africa is projected to be the fastest-growing region in the world in 2026, this growth might be fragile. If it's true that when the U.S. sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold, I fear for the godforsaken fevers coming our way… 

Geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds are not the only winds to shape the sector this year. The technological hurricane of AI will consistently reshape the jobtech sector and the role of human labour more broadly. Meanwhile,  encouraging startup funding trends across the continent (growing investment, more mergers/acquisitions) will provide the fuel with which the sector grows.

What does all of this mean in practice? Here are our predictions:

• A jobtech platform raises a $50m round. While the sector has been under-invested in, the opportunities for both job creation and commercial returns are getting more visible. Where would the $50m round come from? Our guess is in agent models or digital rails for microenterprises. 
  
  
• A labour mobility platform goes mainstream. What a year ago would have felt like a complete wildcard, now represents the next big frontier for job creation and platform development in Africa. Having recently run a Cross-Border Jobs Competition for entrepreneurs building in this emergent space, we think that this year, at least one platform will raise a serious funding round and create jobs for young Africans at scale. Join our webinar on the topic next month to learn more!
  
  

• An African jobtech platform acquires a leading US/European firm to power global expansion. In general, we’re expecting to see more and more Africa-to-the-rest-of-the-world platforms emerging, from digital work providers to trade platforms. As we’ve argued, selling to the world relies on a strong commercial footprint in those demand markets. We think that we’ll see more multiplayer mode collaborations, or maybe even a strategic acquisition of a global firm.
  
  

• AI-driven upskilling becomes the norm. We’re (finally) really excited about edtech for the world of work. Given the potential for stronger learning outcomes and ease of customisation, we think that more and more jobtech platforms will integrate skilling for their users using AI.
  
  

• Platforms finally invest in women users. The evidence is becoming impossible to ignore: women users of jobtech platforms earn as much as 29% more than their men counterparts. Present it any way you want - social impact or CAC/LTV - platforms need to be investing more in their women users. It makes total sense. Luckily, we have some guidance about how to build more inclusively.
  
  

• Platforms drive creative industry monetisation. Another sector we’re particularly bullish in… as we showed in our  Creative Industries Sector Scan, the sector has huge potential for youth employment in Africa. Platforms like Selar are leading the charge and making sure that artists get paid. Watch this space!

   

  Throw those onto the bingo card and let’s see how we do. It’s not like 2025 had any unexpected surprises…
  
  

  Until next time,
  Chris

⏰ Don't miss this

If someone asked you to prove, with evidence, how your platform supports underserved users, could you?

And could you show where it doesn’t?

In jobtech, inclusion usually fails quietly: small design choices, unseen drop-offs, missed risks. We’ve built the Jobtech Inclusivity Framework, following our research on Gendered realities, inclusive platforms: What Women Need to Thrive in Jobtech in Africa, to make those gaps visible.

Cross-border migration can increase incomes for young Africans by 3-15x. But international migration remains limited and fraught with dangers.

We believe jobtech platforms can help. In this webinar, we share findings from our Sector Scan on Labour Mobility and Jobtech to understand opportunities and challenges, identify viable jobtech platforms models enabling labour mobility, and showcase key actors already operating in this nascent space.

📊 Our insights

Why we invested in Greenwheels (4 mins) We spent time working with GreenWheels, and what stood out more than the electric bikes was how access to assets, work, and day-to-day support changed outcomes for drivers.
We’ve written up what we learned and why it matters for how green jobs are actually created on jobtech platforms in Africa.

Pair the above with

Unlocking Africa’s Green Workforce: The role of jobtech in driving sustainable employment (7 mins): We looked at how green jobtech platforms connect people to work across energy, mobility, agriculture, waste, and global green services.

🔧 Built by our members

This month, we had a chat with Kelvin Umechukwu, the Co-founder & CEO of Bumpa. 

🚀 Opportunities

We’re hiring a Senior Venture Builder!

We’re looking for a senior venture partner to scale our efforts in North Africa. You’ll split your time between deep startup work and ecosystem engagement with investors, donors, and enablers. Interested?

Grants for creatives

Platform member and Ghanaian ed-tech company SFAN, has partnered with the British Council Ghana to offer grants supporting 100 creative entrepreneurs to build stronger, more sustainable businesses. Through its ReadyforWork platform, SFAN equips young creatives with AI-enabled digital skills, business training, and pathways to real work opportunities.

🗞️ Who made the news

• LagRide, a Nigerian ride-hailing platform, secured a $100M credit facility from United Bank for Africa to fund 3,500 compressed natural gas vehicles, enabling drivers to shift from renting cars to owning assets over the next four years.

• Moroccan retail-tech platform Woliz closed $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round. The platform helps small shop owners manage stock, monitor sales, and prove income, by strengthening their access to credit and other services usually out of reach.

• Egyptian EdTech eYouth expanded into Iraq to support workforce readiness by delivering high-quality training programmes in Arabic.