Trade and Labour Pathways for Decent Work in Kenya's Digital Economy 2025

Conclusion As in many economies, the expansion of digital work in Kenya has outpaced the development of regulatory and corporate governance frameworks to manage it. Yet Kenya is not standing still. Policy conversations about updating labour laws to reflect the realities of gig and platform work are gaining traction. The government, supported by the ILO’s Community of Practice, is reviewing key legislation and working towards policy guidance to better account for digital work. Stakeholders across sectors are exploring innovative approaches, including functional frameworks for extending protections and tools such as decent work toolkits to support business adoption. These developments signal an evolving policy ecosystem, in which labour reform is seriously debated with regard to labour standards, trade agreements and industry guidelines. Kenya’s experience reflects a broader global struggle, and its national dialogue can offer valuable insights to global discussions, particularly those underway at the ILO aiming to produce an international labour standard on decent work in the platform economy. Ultimately, building a fair digital economy in Kenya – and elsewhere – requires more than piecemeal reform. It calls for a governance shift across both the trade and labour communities: from fragmented responses to coherent, multistakeholder policy coordination. Kenya’s labour law review and policy discourse offer a model for global debates on decent work in the platform economy. Trade and Labour: Pathways for Decent Work in Kenya’s Digital Economy 23