The gig economy is a double-edged sword in Africa.

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Megan McCarty Carrino.

Sub-Saharan Africa has a youth unemployment problem.

The latest figures from the International Labor Organization show more than one in five young people there are neat.

That is, not in employment, education, or training.

Structural issues like the lack of political stability in some countries and lagging infrastructure

remain major barriers to high-quality job creation.

But the gig economy has been growing rapidly thanks to the proliferation of digital platforms.

The BBC's Warimu Gattahi has more.

The job market in sub-Saharan Africa is tough.

Formal employment is limited, and millions of young people are searching for ways to make a living.

But digital platforms are now stepping in, making gig work and self-employment easier to access.

Tendor is one of these apps.

It's a resale digital platform that operates in Ghana and Nigeria.

Felix Manford is its CEO.

Individuals can discover products, add their profits to these products,

and then share them on social media platforms.

And when these sellers generate a sale, Tender would deliver directly to the end customer

and send their profit margins to them.

Felix says Tender trains the users of the platform on how to sell these products

using their own mobile phones from anywhere.

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