Plugging the Leaks: How jobtech platforms are changing microenterprise in Africa

​Across Africa, millions of small businesses run on WhatsApp chats, memory, notebooks, trust, and hustle. This often means:

• ​A customer message gets missed.

• ​Stock runs out unexpectedly.

• ​Someone pays late.

• ​Orders aren't tracked properly.

• ​A delivery goes wrong.

​The business owner spends the whole day busy — yet income quietly leaks out of the business in ways that are difficult to spot in real time.

At the Jobtech Alliance, we’ve been mapping these everyday operational gaps and the growing number of platforms trying to solve them.

​Our new sector scan covers 60+ platforms across Africa building tools for microenterprises: from inventory and fulfilment to bookkeeping, order management, embedded finance, and business operations.

​This webinar brings together founders, researchers, and ecosystem players to unpack what we found.

Our confirmed speakers include:

• ​Jonathan Donner -Chief Knowledge Officer at Caribou

• ​El Hadj Bah - Chief Policy Economist at the African Development Bank

• ​Ritika Sood - Growth Strategist at Flowcart

• ​Nick Markham - Investment Lead at Jobtech Alliance

• ​Cathy Chepkemboi - Founder & CEO, Tushop

​Together, we’ll explore:

• ​why Africa’s smallest businesses matter so much for the continent’s economic future

• ​what happens when micro-enterprises start using digital tools in their day-to-day operations

• ​why many existing support models still miss the operational realities of running a business

• ​and how platforms are increasingly becoming part of the infrastructure layer behind microenterprise growth

​We’ll also hear directly from founders building in this space and the operators working closest to micro-enterprises on the ground.

​If you work on MSMEs, digital economy, entrepreneurship, or livelihoods in Africa, this conversation will likely connect to questions you’re already thinking about.