The Ghana Food Delivery Insightful Report, 2021 — The Gig Riders’ Economy.
By: Bukyia Innovative Kitchen Concepts
Tags: Gig Economy, Food And Beverage, Logistics, Food Delivery, Restaurant

The gig-economy is one of the fast-growing business models worldwide. It involves using digital platforms to connect freelancers with customers to provide short-term service or asset-sharing. Example of companies in the food industry that uses this model includes BoltFood, Jumia, and Glovo.

The outbreak of the global pandemic has boosted the growth of the gig-economy, especially in the food delivery space as consumer behavior has suddenly shifted from dine-ins to online food ordering.

Globally, gig-economy platforms create between 1–3% of total employment according to OECD. Gig-economy transactions are expected to grow by 17% per year to $455 billion by 2023, according to a report from Mastercard.

Despite the glaring statistics, freelancers on food delivery gig-economy platforms are faced with so many challenges which have received little attention from key stakeholders as well as the general public. These problems if addressed will promote a seamless relationship between consumers, riders, and restaurant partners whilst creating dignified job opportunities for young people in the country.

This study was conducted to find out some of the inefficiencies faced by food delivery riders in the gig economy.

Disclaimer: For the purpose of clarity couriers will be referred to as riders throughout this work

LEGALITY

Motorbike has been one of the major means of transportation in Ghana especially in the northern part of the country and border towns. Around 2010–2012, its usage became mainstream- moving beyond outskirt communities into the cities with gradual diversification from its usual private use into a commercial means of commute popularly called OKADA.

In 2012, the motor laws were revised to outlaw the use of motorbikes for commercial purposes under regulation 128(2) of Road Traffic Regulations 2012, which states: states — “A person shall not permit a motorcycle or tricycle which that person exercises control to be used for commercial purpose, except for courier and delivery services.”

The legality of using a motorbike for courier or delivery services is clear, however, the adherence of motorbike riders to the existing motor laws has been a strong subject of concern to governments and the general public at large.

“Ghana as a country has been with motorbikes for a long time, but it’s the commercialization of same that I believe is the issue confronting us now. The issue goes beyond okada. I think that generally, motorcycle riders sometimes turn to engage in some amount of rascality on the streets, and most of them don’t respect the road traffic regulations, and sometimes you see two or three people riding on the same bike with no helmets so, in the event of a crash, they don’t have any safety as far as the accident is concerned.” — Hassan Tampuli(former Minister for Transport)

Recently the Accra metropolitan Assembly has passed out a Bye-Law that seeks to ensure strict compliance and enforcement of existing regulations.

METHODOLOGY

We wanted to get a sample that was representative as possible so we reached a diverse group of riders. Specifically, we interviewed riders on major food delivery apps in Accra (UberEATS, Bolt Food, Jumia, and Glovo) using an open-ended questionnaire. Other data was accessed from online sources and reports.

LIMITATIONS

1. Self-selection: Only riders from giant delivery companies working within Legon, Madina, and East Legon were surveyed.

2. Self-reporting: All responses were self-reported by riders and could not be fully verified. This may consequently result in measurement errors in some answers

DEMOGRAPHICS OF SURVEYED RIDERS.

GENDER

100% of riders in our sample are males which point out the wide gender gap in the industry.

A pie showing the huge male representation in the gig riding space

AGE

20–30 years: 90% of the individuals in our sample were between these ages.

30+ years: 10%

MARITAL STATUS

A pie showing the marital status of gig riders in Accra.

EDUCATION

The Ghanaian education system is divided into three parts: basic education, secondary education, and tertiary education. Basic education lasts 12 years (ages 4–15). The curriculum is free and compulsory and is defined as “the minimum period of schooling needed to ensure that children acquire basic literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills as well as skills for creativity and healthy living”.

80% of riders have attained either basic or secondary form of education whilst Only 20% dropped out with neither basic nor secondary education qualification.