Seeking new financial products to target gig workers

Gig work, which is defined as flexible and temporary contract-based work, has grown significantly these past few years. It can be performed both online, when workers use online platforms to carry out work such as ride-hailing, food delivery and personal services, and offline, when workers land independent jobs such as tutoring and home repair services through personal networks and referrals.

Gig workers represent a particular segment of the workforce, subject to inconsistent and sometimes low income, with a large share working offline and informally. As a result, many struggle to access financial services.

Genesis was commissioned to conduct a market sizing of the gig economy in Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to review the challenges faced by gig workers in these three markets and to propose a set of recommendations on opportunities that can inform the design of financial products targeting this segment.

Using statistics on population demographics, internet penetration, benchmark studies and data on gig platforms users, Genesis undertook a top-down and a bottom-up approach to provide an estimation of the size of the market, stating the split between online and offline work.

The Genesis team also carried out a survey to find the specificity and challenges facing gig workers in each market and each segment.