Juakali- Creating livelihood opportunities

Juakali Workforce aims to increase the visibility and credibility of the youth working in the informal sector through the use of technology solutions in order to facilitate their social mobility. JuaKali provides easy access to reliable skilled manual workers while creating a reference based listing of skilled manual workers.

According to a report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Africa faces a shortfall of 50 million jobs by 2040. Currently many young people find their livelihoods in the informal economy. Most of these youth have basic technical skills and crafts that they employ to earn a living; they typically have a low-level education, limited knowledge of technology, and poor business skills. They also lack the knowledge to adequately present themselves in a business environment and on digital platforms. These factors limit the market they have access to and their opportunities to grow economically.

Juakali provides a platform where youth in the informal sector can get visibility, credibility and ultimately social and economic empowerment. Through the online system workers are able to control the narrative around them by creating an online profile. This will create an open reference system, which can be accessed by their customers and employers. To increase the marketability of the workers, it is of great importance that they are equipped with 21st century skills. This will enable them to get and keep jobs, build trust with their customers and ultimately improve their social and economic position as individuals.

Juakali aims to create livelihood opportunities and increase the employability of youth working in the informal sector. It plans to do this through the online platform that is currently being used to facilitate job placements for youth working in the informal sector. By registering workers on the online system, tracking the jobs that they carry out and incorporating customer feedback, we are in effect creating a large set of data that can be used as a reference base for customers and service providers who would like to work with youth in the informal sector. 

50% increase in young men and women who are registered in the database that report improved financial status / livelihood - Create of a reference system for youth working in the informal sector

50% of youth registered on the online platform placed in at least one short term jobs within a year - Facilitate job placements for youth working in the informal sector

250 young men and women engaged in a training involving 21st century skills at least once a year - Increase the employability skills of 500 young men and women by organizing industry specific trainings

There is a growing interest in online shareable services in Kenya at the moment. Since the advent of Uber, it has shown that many consumers want to work with service providers who have gone through a system of vetting and who are hosted on an accessible mobile platform. The Juakali application intends to give customers the ability to give feedback on the service providers therefore building a Kenyan online network of trust in the informal sector that is transparent and publicly accessible.

Juakali Workforce targets urban out of school youth who operate at the fringe of the Kenyan economy. Most of these youth have basic technical skills and crafts that they employ in the informal sector; they typically have a low-level education, limited knowledge of technology, and poor business skills. Juakali workforce aims to co-create the solution with the youth to offer the power of the web to mobile phone owners through SMS and mobile applications, connecting cleaners, welders, mechanics, electricians, carpenters, fumigators etc. to the rapidly growing middle class of in urban areas in Kenya.

Customers usually find out about Juakali through fliers, word of mouth and searching on the Internet. The youth in the informal sector are mainly reached through SMS and calls since they mainly operate with feature phones.The solution is currently available on the juakali website-www.juakali.co.ke, on a mobile application in the Google Play Store and is reachable via SMS, calls, Whatsapp and Facebook. After service has been provided, customer are contacted to give feedback on the worker.

Juakali Workforce intends to be sustainable after the duration of the grant. For this reason we have been experimenting with different methods that can lead to sustainability of this enterprise. The following are the methods that are being pursued:

• Targeting companies and institutions that require maintenance and cleaning jobs on a regular basis. This will ensure that a considerable number of workers are gainfully employed for a consistent period and that Juakali Workforce earns revenue.

• Building a permanent in-house team of workers that can be hired to individuals who need one off services from the Juakali.

• Charging a premium service to Juakali workers who would like to be featured or advertise their services prominently on the online and offline platforms.

• Charging for advertising from companies that want to reach the workers.

Currently JuaKali workforce is supported through funding from the founders and revenue generated.

The risk of failing to get and sustain funding will affect the speed of scaling the solution. Inadequate funding will also affect the ability to attract highly skilled staff to run various programs and activities related to Juakali. Funding is essential to managing Juakali’s human capital needs.

Secondly, the nature of the informal sector is that it is unregulated. There are efforts by the Government of Kenya to develop regulations to support it’s growth. It is a risk to Juakali that the regulatory framework may change in a way that is not favorable to the business.

https://twitter.com/juakaliworkers

http://www.m4social.org/en/showroom/juakali

https://youtu.be/dO1uplbWEJs

As a person who has founded a non-profit, I would like to be part of Solve community because I understand the value of having a great support network while building an enterprise. I hope to use the experience at Solve to refine the ideas and business model around Juakali Workforce service. This opportunity will allow me to meet other like-minded change-makers who we together we can form a tribe to support each other in our respective initiatives. Moreover becoming a solver gives me the opportunity and skills to incorporate human-centered design principles in all steps of product and business development.

Ukall LTD, a start up that develops software solutions, will make use of mobile and web technologies to extend and build value for Juakali Workforce.

Accounting.co.ke, an online based accounting, is in charge of the book keeping carried out in Juakali Workforce.

Lynk.co.ke- Lynk is a job placement platform focused on workers in the informal sector.