GEBEYA ON BUILDING AFRICA’S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND EMPOWERING SERVICE ENTREPRENEURS
In this piece, we sat down with Amadou Daffe, the visionary behind Gebeya, a pan-African tech talent marketplace. Gebeya is transforming the continent’s service economy by helping millions of service providers, from software developers to artisans formalize their businesses, gain visibility, and compete globally. In this interview, Amadou Daffe shares the inspiration behind Gebeya, the challenges of building Africa’s digital infrastructure, and the impact their platforms are having across the continent.
1. You often describe yourself as having two passions: Africa and software engineering. Why did you choose to channel that energy through a pan-African tech talent marketplace, and how did your previous experiences prepare you for this journey?
The fusion of my two passions was never just about building a company; it was about building infrastructure for a continent on the rise. We initially launched Gebeya in 2016 as a direct response to the tech talent shortage. However, our journey revealed a more profound, systemic gap: the complete absence of a unified digital backbone for Africa's vast, fragmented service economy. My experience taught me that while training talent is noble, true empowerment comes from building the platforms that allow that talent to thrive, transact, and compete globally. We've evolved from simply connecting developers to constructing the foundational operating system, comprising Gebeya Gebeya Jitume, Gebeya Dala, and Gebeya Jenga that will power Africa's $100 billion service sector.
2. For those unfamiliar with Gebeya, could you walk us through what the company does, the services it provides, and the values that drive its mission?
Gebeya is building the digital infrastructure for Africa's service economy. We move the continent's millions of service providers from informal, invisible operations on messaging apps to formal, professional, and globally competitive digital entrepreneurs. We do this through an integrated suite of products:
3. You’ve said before that Africa doesn’t have a talent shortage but rather a talent matching problem. How does Gebeya bridge that gap, and what tangible impact have you seen in the tech ecosystem as a result?
We've moved beyond just stating the problem to architecting the solution. The old model of a single marketplace was a starting point. Today, we solve the matching problem at a systemic level. Gebeya Jenga uses AI to create intelligent, bespoke marketplaces for every sector. Gebeya Jitume makes talent discoverable and credible. The impact is tangible: we've already skilled over 250,000 individuals and created 120,000+ jobs. But the real transformation is in the formalization and scaling we enable. A consultant in Nairobi now has a digital presence that rivals a firm in New York, and a small business can launch its own service ecosystem in days, not years. We are not just matching talent; we are making Africa's entire service economy visible, efficient, and integrated.
4. Looking back, what were some of the biggest challenges Gebeya faced in its early years, and what turning points helped you navigate them?
Our biggest challenge was a paradigm shift in our own thinking. We initially believed the problem was a pipeline issue—train more developers. The turning point was realizing the problem was an infrastructure issue. We saw that our successful graduates were still struggling within a broken system reliant on cash and chaotic communication channels like WhatsApp. This epiphany forced us to pivot from being a "connector" of talent to becoming a "builder" of the entire commercial infrastructure. The hardest, but most crucial, decision was to abandon the simpler, proven marketplace model and bet everything on building the complete operating system for Africa's service commerce.
5. Gebeya has evolved from a training platform to a full-fledged talent marketplace and incubator for digital entrepreneurs. What inspired this evolution, and how have these innovations shaped Gebeya’s growth and sustainability?
ignoring 99% of Africa's economic engine. Our continent runs on its service providers—the creatives, consultants, artisans, and entrepreneurs. They all faced the same digital exclusion. This inspired our pivot to an AI-powered ecosystem for all African service providers. This shift has been fundamental to our growth and sustainability. Instead of serving one niche segment, we now address a $100 billion market. Our products—Gebeya Dala, Gebeya Jitume, Gebeya Jenga—are scalable, SaaS-based solutions that create multiple revenue streams while generating massive, tangible impact, making Gebeya a truly sustainable and transformative venture.
6. The partnership with the Mastercard Foundation through the Mesirat project is a major milestone. Could you share what outcomes you are seeing from the project so far, and what lessons it has offered about building large-scale, impact-driven collaborations?
The Mesirat project has been a powerful validation of our model. In just 14 months, we've supported 60+ operational marketplaces, housing over 300,000 gig workers, and created over 100,000 jobs across 10 diverse sectors. The critical lesson was this: for technology to drive large-scale impact in Africa, it cannot be imposed; it must be integrated. It must work with the grain of how people already live and trade. That's why our platforms seamlessly integrate with WhatsApp, Telegram, and mobile money systems like M-PESA. We learned that success lies in building technology that is not just world-class in quality, but contextually brilliant in its application.
7. Operating across diverse markets in Africa comes with both complexity and opportunity. What strategies have helped Gebeya scale effectively, and what have you learned about the unique- and shared- needs of African clients and talent?
Our strategy is "regional-ready by design." We don't adapt global solutions; we build African ones from the ground up. This means our architecture is rural-first, supports key local languages (Amharic, Swahili, French, English), and has native integrations with local payment rails like M-PESA and Orange Money. We've learned that while a hairdresser in Lagos and a farmer in rural Kenya have unique needs, their core requirements are universal: they need to be discovered, trusted, paid easily, and manage their client relationships professionally. Gebeya provides that universal framework, adaptable to any local context.
8. As a leader, how do you cultivate a culture of innovation and excellence within Gebeya? What guiding principles shape your leadership approach, especially as the company continues to grow?
I cultivate a culture of "Builders, not just Bandaids." We challenge our team to solve the root cause, not just the symptom. Our guiding principle is "Frictionless World-Class." Every product we build must deliver a world-class user experience while operating flawlessly in low-connectivity, high-friction environments. This requires a unique blend of innovative AI and brutally robust, simple engineering. My leadership is shaped by the belief that our work is not a mere commercial venture; it is a legacy project. We are building the digital foundations for the next generation of African economic heroes.
9. Entrepreneurship comes with tough choices. Can you share one or two of the hardest decisions you have had to make as CEO, and what those experiences taught you about leadership and resilience?
The hardest decision was our strategic pivot from a successful talent marketplace to an unproven, ambitious vision of powering the entire service economy. It meant walking away from a known path to build a new one from scratch. This taught me that true leadership is about seeing the bridge no one else has built yet and having the courage to lay the first stone. Resilience is forged in the conviction that your long-term vision is worth the short-term skepticism. It’s about betting on Africa’s potential, even when the blueprint doesn’t exist.
10. Looking ahead, what key projects or innovations are in Gebeya’s pipeline, and how do they fit into your vision for the next five years? What role do you see Gebeya playing in shaping Africa’s digital and economic future?
Our pipeline is focused on deepening the integration and intelligence of our ecosystem. We are enhancing the AI in Gebeya Jenga for predictive talent matching and scaling Gebeya Dala to become the primary tool for digital creation for millions. Our vision for the next five years is clear and measurable:
in the economy; we are the platform upon which the economy is being rebuilt. Every service booked, every product built, every transaction completed on our platform is a declaration that Africa is not just ready for the global stage—it is building its own.
11. Finally, if you could share one piece of advice with your younger self - knowing everything you do now - what would it be?
Build the infrastructure, not just the applications. I would tell my younger self that the most powerful solutions don't just connect people within a broken system; they re-architect the system itself. What we are doing now—building the complete operating system for Africa's service economy—is the work I wish we had started on day one. The lesson is profound: don't just solve the visible problem; solve the invisible architecture that creates it. Because when you empower a billion people with sovereign, world-class tools, you don't just change lives—you change the trajectory of a continent.
