Egypt’s digital gig economy is growing, as economic pressures push more of its key demographic -– educated, urban youth –- into the work-on-demand model.
Engineer Mohamed Sherif, 37, joined online food ordering company Talabat as a bicycle courier in Alexandria three months ago because he couldn’t find a job.
“They bleed you dry left and right, but there’s nothing else to do,” he told AFP.
In early April, Talabat couriers called a two-day strike to demand higher wages, with only a fraction of the 12,000 workforce joining.
The work stoppage reflected, however, the state of Egypt’s sizeable, app-based gig economy.
Inflation has climbed to a three-year high of 12.1 percent while the Egyptian pound plunged to 18 percent of its value.
The mounting economic hardships come as global commodity prices have soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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