Platformization in Africa is not simply about applying global digital models to African contexts. Rather, it reflects a unique convergence of socio-political, economic, and technological forces that are reshaping urban life, governance, and economic development on the continent. Writing about platformization from Africa, therefore, requires a shift in perspective — one that recognizes Africa not as a passive recipient of digital technologies, but as an active and complex site of innovation, negotiation, and resistance.
Understanding Platformization in a Global Context
Globally, platformization refers to the growing dominance of digital platforms — such as Facebook, Uber, Amazon, and Airbnb — which mediate social and economic interactions. These platforms have transformed everything from urban transportation to healthcare, education, and commerce. In this context, platform capitalism is a term used to describe how platforms extract data and value from user interactions, often consolidating power in the hands of a few corporations.
In the African context, however, platformization takes on different contours. The continent’s distinct infrastructural constraints, informal economies, and demographic trends give rise to unique models of digital engagement. Platforms like M-Pesa in Kenya or Kobo360 in Nigeria are not mere copies of Western models; they are deeply rooted in local needs and practices.
Digital Infrastructures and Access in Africa
One of the central challenges in analyzing digital platformization in Africa is the uneven development of digital infrastructure. While internet penetration and smartphone usage are growing rapidly, large segments of the population remain excluded from digital services due to cost, poor connectivity, or lack of digital literacy. Writing about platformization must, therefore, be attentive to these disparities.
Moreover, access to platforms is often mediated by corporate or governmental control. For instance, shutdowns of internet services during elections or protests in countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, or Uganda reveal how access to digital platforms is also a site of political contestation.
The Rise of African Digital Platforms
The African continent is experiencing a boom in locally-developed digital platforms that cater specifically to African contexts. These platforms — from fintech startups to agricultural data apps — illustrate how African innovators are responding to infrastructural gaps and social needs through creative digital solutions.
For example, M-Pesa has revolutionized mobile banking and financial inclusion in East Africa. Similarly, logistics platforms like Kobo360 are transforming supply chain management across West Africa. These platforms offer critical insights into how digital economies are being built from the ground up in Africa.
Platformization and Urban Governance
In African cities, platformization is increasingly shaping how urban governance operates. From smart city initiatives to public-private partnerships in transport and security, digital platforms are reconfiguring power relations between governments, citizens, and corporations.
However, this also raises concerns about surveillance, data privacy, and accountability. Who owns the data generated by urban platforms? How are these platforms regulated? Writing about platformization from Africa demands a critical engagement with these questions, especially in contexts where governance systems are already under strain.
Platform Labor and the Gig Economy
The expansion of gig economy platforms like Uber, Bolt, and Glovo in African cities has introduced new forms of employment, but also new forms of precarity. Drivers and delivery workers often operate without contracts, social protections, or bargaining power. Their experiences highlight how platform labor in Africa mirrors — and sometimes intensifies — global trends of labor informalization and exploitation.
Yet, African workers are also organizing and resisting these conditions. Protests by Uber drivers in South Africa or delivery workers in Kenya show that the gig economy is not unopposed. Understanding the politics of platform labor is essential to any meaningful analysis of platformization from Africa.
Data Sovereignty and Digital Colonialism
One of the most pressing debates around platformization in Africa concerns digital sovereignty. As global tech giants expand their reach across African markets, questions arise about who controls African data. The outsourcing of data storage, AI training, and cloud infrastructure to foreign entities creates risks of digital colonialism.
African policymakers and civil society actors are increasingly pushing for data protection frameworks, local tech development, and regional platforms that reflect African priorities. Initiatives like the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy 2020–2030 aim to assert greater autonomy in shaping the continent’s digital future.
Writing Platformization from the Ground Up
To write meaningfully about platformization from Africa, one must engage with local realities. This includes listening to users, developers, regulators, and communities who are actively shaping and contesting platform dynamics. It requires an ethnographic sensitivity to how platforms operate in daily life — in markets, taxis, hospitals, farms, and classrooms.
It also means being attentive to the plurality of African experiences. The conditions of platformization in Nairobi differ vastly from those in Accra, Cape Town, or Kinshasa. Regional differences in language, infrastructure, governance, and culture matter — and should inform our theoretical and analytical frameworks.
Conclusion: Toward an African Digital Future
Platformization in Africa is not a simple story of catch-up or dependency. It is a dynamic process involving adaptation, resistance, and innovation. African actors are not just consumers of platforms — they are creators, critics, and policymakers. To write about platformization from Africa is to center these voices and processes in our understanding of the global digital order.
As we move deeper into the 21st century, the need to foreground African perspectives in digital research and policy becomes ever more urgent. Only by doing so can we work toward a more inclusive, equitable, and representative platform economy.
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Further Reading & Resources
- African Centre for Cities
- AU Digital Transformation Strategy 2020–2030
- Research ICT Africa
- GSMA Mobile for Development
Table of Contents
- Understanding Platformization in a Global Context
- Digital Infrastructures and Access in Africa
- The Rise of African Digital Platforms
- Platformization and Urban Governance
- Platform Labor and the Gig Economy
- Data Sovereignty and Digital Colonialism
- Writing Platformization from the Ground Up
- Conclusion: Toward an African Digital Future
- Further Reading & Resources
first appeared on African Centre for Cities.
