Cell C, in partnership with micro-jobbing platform M4JAM (Money for Jam), will create 230 000 jobs this year, through the operator’s Spaza 5 000 pilot project that is preparing for nationwide expansion.
Established in 2014, M4JAM connects local brands with an on-demand workforce (called jobbers), providing them with mobile-based training to easily manage tasks and track results in real-time.
Last year, the company partnered with Cell C on the Spaza 5 000 pilot programme, which is aimed at increasing Cell C’s market share in SA by hiring M4JAM jobbers to gather market analytics in the informal sector.
As part of the initiative, jobbers are required to interview the spaza (informal merchant) owners and managers about RICA processes, barriers to airtime and SIM sales, and the top -selling Cell C products in their stores, to help Cell C understand the telecoms market dynamics in the informal sector.
The information is captured on their mobile phones.
The Spaza 5 000 project, which had initially targeted three provinces in SA – Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Limpopo – is gearing up for nationwide expansion, with plans to provide jobs for 230 000 jobbers, with a total of roughly R13 million in revenue paid out in salaries.
M4JAM CEO Georgie Midgley says the platform’s gig economy opportunities have brought much-needed income to community members around the country.
“By partnering up with clients such as Cell C, we are proving the gig economy can benefit emerging markets. This project has had a profound impact for many jobbers from the informal communities.
“Over four months in 2019, 5 152 spaza shops were mapped, with 15 146 discrete jobs completed by jobbers. With the information received from the Spaza 5 000 pilot, Cell C and M4JAM have now launched this project nationally to map an additional 115 000 spazas. The national rollout will create 230 000 jobs for M4JAM jobbers with millions of revenue paid out into these communities.”
M4JAM has 25 clients, consisting of telcos, consumer goods producers and mining firms, among others, who pay for services conducted by jobbers.
More than 320 000 South Africans have already signed up with M4JAM and move from task to task when projects arise in their location.
Job descriptions range from marketing and branding services, to doing mapping and distribution, operated through the jobbers’ cellphones.
Dino Naicker, executive: marketing and special key accounts at Cell C, says: “It's been a phenomenal experience working with M4JAM.
“In terms of the valuable analytics, Cell C has gained insight into which province stood out with the most opportunity for market share growth, based on spaza owner needs. This data includes information such as new paint for their spaza shops, a high level of spend on airtime and data, and a desire for cheap smartphones from customers.”
In 2016, the micro-jobbing platform was acquired by telco product distributor Informal Solution Providers, after failing to reach profitability within the initial funding timeframe.
Under the acquisition agreement, Informal Solution Providers bought the technology and started trading under the name M4JAM.
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