
Research Sprint: Sustainable digital economies
This research sprint addresses the topic of online gig work in Ghana and specific aspects of work brokered via online platforms in the region. Over the course of six weeks the research fellows, guided by the project team, develop approaches to inform practitioners and policy makers in Ghana about the country's online gigwork ecosystem and its governance. The sprint is taking place online and closes with a finishing week in Accra, Ghana.
Digital platforms have become central ecosystems for economic activity in the 21st century. On two-sided markets, they mediate between buyers and sellers of digital work or enable novel business opportunities. At the same time, they amplify existing polarisation of work, workers and economic resources and call for new regulatory measures in an increasingly uneven digital economy. Both the benefits and perils of the digital platform economy on the economic development pathway are distinctly visible in sub-Saharan Africa. How can platform work in sub-Saharan Africa be shaped sustainably? What role does fairness play in regulation and the exchange between different interest groups? These are just some of the many pressing questions related to platform economy and regulation, which we address in an interdisciplinary research sprint with exciting structures for policy impact (both public and private).
The fellows collaborate in two research groups, each dealing with a different research question. At the end of the sprint, they will publish policy papers and present them to local partners in July of 2022. A second sprint will be conducted in autumn of 2022, focussing on green technologies and digital approaches to climate change in Southeast Asia.
HIIG Research Sprint | FELLOWS
 ![]() | Setu Bandh Upadhyay Affiliation: Researcher at Civic Media Observatory, Global Voices (The Netherlands) Area of research: Technology policy, governance and data-power relations, digital rights Twitter: @setupadhyay LinkedIn: Setu Bandh Upadhyay | |
![]() | Allan Ochola Affiliation: MSc student at Kenyatta University (Kenya) and Fellow at Black Diplomat's Academy (Canada) Area of research: Inclusive and responsible AI and data governance, open data and open science Twitter: @allanochola LinkedIn: Allan Ochol | |
![]() | Sam Rex Sagoe Babo Affiliation: Research Associate at Kumasi Hive (Ghana) Area of research: Economics, puplic policy management | |
![]() | Digvijay Singh Affiliation: PhD Candidate at Indian Institute of Technology (India) Area of research: Humanities and social sciences Twitter: @_s_digvijay LinkedIn: Digvijay Singh | |
![]() | Bayan Khosravi Affiliation: Assistant Professor of information technology management (Iran) Area of Research: Digital inclusion in the platform economy Twitter: @BayanKhosravi LinkedIn: Bayan Khosravi | |
![]() | Claire Shaw Affiliation: Doctoral student at Aalto University (Finland) Area of research: Social impacts of technologies | |
![]() | Sercan Demir Affiliation: PhD candidate at the University of Cologne (Germany) Area of research: Digital platforms | |
![]() | John Kieti Affiliation: PhD candidate at the School of Computing and Informatics at the University of Nairobi (Kenya) Area of research: Digital platforms and ecosystems, digital agriculture, platform governance Twitter: @JohnKieti | |
![]() | Kiito Shilongo Affiliation: Researcher at Research ICT Africa (South Africa) Area of research: Data governance and justice, sustainability and digital ecosystems | |
![]() | Brian Tshuma Affiliation: Doctoral Research Fellow at Open Data Institute London (England) Area of research: Governance of data, algorithms and digital technologies in the global south. Twitter: @tsbriann LinkedIn: Brian Tshuma | |
![]() | Angella Ndaka Affiliation: PhD Candidate at the University of Otago (New Zealand) Area of research: Sociotechnical systems, sustainable agritech cultures, epistemic justice in technology design and adoption LinkedIn: Angella Ndaka | |
![]() | Augustina Odame Affiliation: Chief Executive Officer at Ghana Chamber of Technology (Ghana) Area of research: digital governance, digital trade, digital inclusion LinkedIn: Augustina Odame |
About the project
The Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Global Digital Transformation (SET) research group has set itself the goal of addressing issues relating to digitalisation, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia. Through the inclusion of social needs and effective stakeholder communication; future-oriented, sustainable and locally sensitive approaches will be developed in nine countries. With a particular focus on the topics of entrepreneurship, the future of work, and issues of AI in connection with sustainability and climate protection, HIIG is working with local stakeholders to build application-oriented expertise.
SET is part of the overarching project in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). HIIG supports the BMZ's Digital Transformation Centers (DTCs) as a scientific partner and carries out exchange and research formats in partner countries.
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