Recently, tech giant, Google has rolled out TaskMate in Kenya, a crowdsourcing application that allows people to use smartphones to perform tasks and get paid, tapping the expanding gig market. The company stated that it has launched the beta version after a year-long trial in the East African country and is planning to introduce it to other countries. Google TaskMate app is also available in India, where it’s also in the pilot stage.
Google TaskMate Mobile App Users Fulfill Skilled and Unskilled Tasks
Google TaskMate mobile app users perform experienced and untrained tasks such as translation or photography for businesses — that are recognized by Google to post on the platform. Google TaskMate enters an expanding list of apps and services rolled out by Google that gets people paid for services they carry out. They include a rewards app that allows people to get paid for filling out questionnaires and local services ads that link businesses, at a fee, with clients within their vicinity.
Read more: Google Introduces Continuous Scrolling on Mobile Search Results
“Today we have launched TaskMate, and it’s the first time we have opened it in Africa and across the world,” said TaskMate product manager, Mike Knapp. The pilot began in Kenya late last year and users were able to carry out different tasks including taking photos of plants for a research project carried out by Penn State University. The app’s gigs are described as either sitting or field assignments.
Google is Expecting Businesses and Startups to Work on this Platform
“We went to a pilot phase where we had 1,000 people use the app, and they gave very positive feedback. And so now we’ve moved to the beta phase. And we’re really experimenting at a bigger level at this point,” said Knapp. “And we’re looking for businesses and startups to come and experiment with us on the platform, to see how this can help them solve the difficult problems that they’re working on,” he said.
Furthermore, the launch occurred as Google declared that it had paid $10 million in loans to help small businesses across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa make financial recovery caused by the COVID pandemic. Google is dispensing the loans through Kiva, a San-Francisco-based nonprofit lending organization. The funding is part of the $1 billion it announced a fortnight ago it will invest in Africa.
Source: TechCrunch
