News
Small Foundation is delighted to announce a new partnership with Jobtech Alliance, a community and support network for jobtech companies and ecosystem partners.
‘Jobtech’ refers to digital platforms that connect people with work opportunities. These platforms play a critical role in enabling young people’s access to job opportunities that build livelihoods. By 2030, it is estimated that between 30-88 million Africans will earn from jobtech.
Established in 2021 as a joint initiative by Mercy Corps and BFA Global, Jobtech Alliance catalyses large-scale, meaningful employment across Africa through supporting jobtech platforms and building a jobtech ecosystem that connects technology, capital, and talent to transform how Africans find and sustain quality work.
Small Foundation’s contribution is specifically directed at the Alliance’s ecosystem-building work and its utilisation of a systems change approach. With the support of Small Foundation, Jobtech Alliance will continue to grow and expand its curation of geographic and thematic-focused jobtech communities, improve the access to data and research on the African jobtech ecosystem and support hands-on investor matchmaking for jobtech ventures.
We believe that this support will allow the Alliance to continue to scale its ambition over the coming five years, driving inclusive job creation and investment into this emerging sector. This focus aligns with Small Foundation’s own strategic aims to support connected, transparent and learning ecosystems, and our commitment to fostering ecosystem leadership across the sectors in which we work.
Reflecting on the partnership, Chris Maclay, co-director of the Jobtech Alliance, said:
“The jobtech sector has enormous potential to alleviate the youth unemployment challenge in Africa. The 50 African platforms that the Jobtech Alliance has provided venture support to have already created over 40,000 quality jobs and connected more than 200,000 people to earning opportunities. But the real impact at scale comes from our ecosystem-building work. This is the long-term, multifaceted approach designed to change the way the sector operates so it can deliver millions of jobs over the next decade.
While many funding partners prefer quicker impact with more tangible measurability, Small Foundation’s support, patience and – critically – expertise in strengthening business ecosystems, is invaluable for our long-term objectives. This allows the Jobtech Alliance to build the network, drive funding into the sector, influence policy and respond to systemic constraints. Together, we’re ensuring that the jobtech sector continues to thrive and that the future of work, works for Africa.”
Interested parties can join the Jobtech Alliance community.
Jobtech platforms seeking to scale and grow are encouraged to find more information about support from Jobtech Alliance and complete an application form. The existing portfolio supported by Jobtech Alliance is available here.
