Kenyan work platform Lynk connects blue-collar workers with job opportunities and provides a platform for artisans to showcase and sell their products. As part of IFC's Digitall2Equal intiative, Lynk realized it could support women's entry into high-paying but male-dominated industries. This case study highlights how lynk's approach allowed it to gain a better understanding of the challenges and needs of women who use the platform and helped the company to develop trainig and financial support schemes.
Impact / Outcome
About one-third of the pilot’s 15 participants were women, and already there is evidence that women Pros learn, adapt, and produce high-quality pieces that sell just as well and, in some cases, even better than their male counterparts. In an independent survey of Pros in 2019, all Pros from the furniture segment experienced increased earnings on Lynk, compared with 73 percent in beauty and 88 percent in the IRM segment. Lynk has since also instituted a culture of consistent learning about its Pros, their experiences, and their challenges on the platform, in line with better measuring the effects of their inclusion efforts. In the latest independent evaluation of Lynk Pros, 93 percent of respondents agreed that being on the Lynk platform had improved their quality of life, and 64 percent said they had gained new skills.
Funding sources
Private
Key Metrics
Connect informal workers to work opportunities and entrepreneurs to customers
Operating model
Fully privateYear published
01 January 2020 
International Finance Corporation (IFC)