The Fairwork Egypt Ratings 2021 report evaluates the working conditions of seven digital labour platforms – FilKhedma, Mrsool, Orcas, Swvl, Talabat, Mongez and Uber – against five principles of fairness—fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation.Egypt’s local start-up scene has boomed and diversified to include new digital labour platforms in different sectors such as transportation, education, domestic services and delivery services. In a country dominated by informality, digital labour platforms present unique and flexible opportunities for workers to earn an income in Egypt. However, workers on these platforms often lack basic rights and protections. We hope that the findings in this report will help all the relevant stakeholders work collaboratively to ensure fairer standards, inclusion and sustainability in Egypt’s platform economy.Report authors, Nagla Rizk, Nagham ElHoussamy, Matthew Cole and Mark Graham will give a brief presentation with key findings from the report. This will be followed by a discussion with guest panellists: Dr Ahmed Kamaly, Salma Hussein and Amal Mowafy. There will also be an open Q&A session for all attendees.
Former Research Associate
Matthew Cole was a Postdoctoral Researcher with Fairwork, investigating global platforms. His research interests include the political economy of technology and platforms, particularly the transformation of work.
Professor of Internet Geography
Mark Graham is an economic geographer. His research focuses on digital labour, the gig economy, and digital inequalities. He is the author, most recently, of Feeding the Machine: The Hidden Human Labour Powering AI
Associate Director for Research, Middle East and Africa, Access to Knowledge for Development Center, AUC School of Business
Nagham El Houssamy is working on research on the intersection of knowledge, technology, entrepreneurship and development.
Regional Research Manager, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) MENA
Deputy Minister, Egyptian Ministry of Planning and Economic Development
Chief of Party, USAID Scholars Activity at the American University in Cairo (AUC)
Amal was formerly the Senior Technical Advisor at the International Labor Organization (ILO)
Professor of Economics and Founding Director, Access to Knowledge for Development Center, AUC School of Business
Nagla researches the economics of knowledge, technology and development, with focus on digital platforms, innovation, knowledge governance, business models and inclusive growth in the Middle East.
