Google Launches Crowdsourcing App TaskMate in Kenya

Users in Africa will be able to earn extra cash from tasks being outsourced by organizations following the launch of TaskMate beta app by Google. Google has launched the app in Kenya which it says simplifies crowdsourcing tasks posted by organizations such as translating text into local language or filling a survey using their smartphones, in a way tapping the growing gig economy. The app is available in India too, where it’s also in the pilot stage.

Google Country Director for Eastern Africa Agnes Gathaiya says the app launch is part of Google’s efforts to provide additional earning opportunities to users in Africa who may have talents that extend outside of formal education and employment opportunities but seek financial independence.

“At Google, we’re constantly experimenting on products that we believe have a high potential to be helpful to our users in accessing relevant information and opportunities online. Today, TaskMate’s launch in Kenya marks the latest milestone in our journey.”

Google piloted the TaskMate app in early 2020 with a few simple tasks, among them to translate the Alice in Wonderland book into Kenyan languages. Through TaskMate, 500 taskers in two days started generating translations of the book in five Kenyan languages: Kiswahili, Kikuyu, Luo, Kamba, Luhya, and Maa, marking the start of an experimental project that continues to this day.

“In light of the pandemic, where it has become more challenging to find earning opportunities, our mission has been made more urgent and important. I’m excited to see how Task Mate can benefit people and businesses in Kenya, and how we can make the app even better for our users,” added Gathaiya.

TaskMate partnered with PlantVillage (a research team at Penn State University that helps farmers adapt to climate change) to showcase tasks aimed at improving crop health and food security in Africa, as part of its beta launch. Users can participate in an ongoing project on the app to take pictures of specified crop fields across the country, which will then be processed by PlantVillage into insights on farming practices and crop health that will be shared with 14 million farmers in Kenya.