Digital trade and investment flows and the regulatory landscape1 The current trade and investment landscape provides entry points to regulate digital and platform work. International trade policy is still adapting to the realities of platform-mediated work and cross- border digital services. Kenya exported $1.98 billion15 in digitally delivered services in 2024 (Figure 2). However, regulatory and trade policy frameworks lag in addressing labour impacts. Kenya is party to trade agreements that cover digital services and investment, such as the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the EU–Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Trade negotiations with the US began in 2020 under the Trump administration and continued as the US–Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) under the Biden administration. These frameworks reference a range of labour issues, yet do not directly tackle platform labour or AI governance, and lack focus on platform worker issues, such as classification, algorithmic management and access to social protection – leaving a gap in how trade policy engages with the realities of Kenya’s rapidly growing digital economy.1.1 Trade Growth of digitally delivered services exports from Kenya FIGURE 2 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024Digital service exports (in $ millions) Year1,0019421,1951,542 1,390 1,2171,7422,052 1,7841,980 Source: WTO. (July 2025). Digitally delivered services trade dataset Trade and Labour: Pathways for Decent Work in Kenya’s Digital Economy 7

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