The gig economy in South Africa spans a wide range of work, from ride-hailing and food delivery to courier services, freelance digital work, online tutoring and home-based services booked through digital platforms. While these opportunities have opened up new income streams in a constrained labour market, income is rarely fixed and workers often operate without the financial buffers that come with salaried employment.
National Savings Month in July, in this context, serves as a reminder to take pause and reflect on our financial behaviours and patterns, taking stock of what is working and taking steps to change course where necessary. This is what builds financial resilience – the ability to withstand financial shocks and adapt to changing circumstances while continuing to earn despite uncertainty.
However, unlike salaried employees with a predictable monthly income, irregular income, fluctuating demand and the need to constantly balance earning opportunities with rising everyday costs are realities that many South Africans working in the gig economy face. All of these factors and more are what stand in the way of achieving true financial resilience.
Steps to achieving financial resilience
Financial stability in this context means understanding how much it actually costs to work, not just how much is earned. It involves tracking expenses closely, planning for quieter periods when demand drops and ensuring that income fluctuations do not immediately translate into financial instability. For many gig workers, it also means separating personal and work-related finances to maintain clarity over what is genuinely affordable and sustainable.
For those working through location-based platforms, these pressures are particularly pronounced, as income depends not only on demand for services, but on the costs required to stay active and mobile. In fact, research into ride-hailing in South Africa shows that drivers operate as self-employed workers responsible for all vehicle and operating costs, meaning that their actual earnings are highly dependent on expenses such as fuel, maintenance and insurance.
Against this backdrop, financial resilience goes beyond careful budgeting and saving. It also means choosing to work with platforms that support sustainable earning opportunities. Transparency around pricing, the ability to negotiate a fair fare and platform fees that allow workers to retain more of what they earn can all have a meaningful impact on long-term financial wellbeing.
Sustainable platform work
“Drivers work incredibly hard for every trip, and they deserve to be fairly rewarded for that effort,” says Ashif Black, Country Representative for South Africa at inDrive. “Building financial resilience starts with making smart financial decisions, but it also depends on having access to platforms that are committed to fairness. Giving drivers a voice in fare negotiations and enabling them to keep a greater share of their earnings creates a more sustainable model for everyone.”
Black says this philosophy sits at the heart of inDrive’s mission to challenge injustice through fair pricing. “We’re giving drivers and passengers the opportunity to agree on a price that works for both of them, rather than relying solely on an algorithm to determine value. Coupled with one of the lowest standard service fees in the market, this helps drivers retain more of what they earn while giving passengers greater transparency and choice.”
For the millions of people earning an income through platform work, financial resilience is built through everyday decisions. This includes understanding expenses, planning ahead, managing uncertainty and keeping more of what they’ve worked hard to earn. And considering this uncertainty is likely to remain part of the work landscape, those habits are becoming some of the most valuable assets that any worker can have.