New platform aims to move informal workers beyond roadside job hunting

For Moses Mkonkholo, finding work can mean spending an entire day standing at a busy Hout Bay intersection, hoping that someone will stop and offer him a job.

Sometimes, the wait pays off. Often, it does not.

“I will sometimes stand here for hours and get nothing. Even stand here the entire day and go home with nothing – this life is not the easiest,” Mkonkholo said.

His experience is shared by South Africans who have skills, a willingness to work and a desperate need for an opportunity, but struggle to connect with people who need their services.

It is a problem Hout Bay resident Rishaard Bhayat believes technology can help address.

Bhayat is behind Ekasi to the Burbs, a mobile-first platform that aims to connect skilled informal workers with suburban households seeking local service providers.

The idea is simple: create a digital space where workers can list their skills and experience, while households can browse available workers in their communities and make direct contact.

Putting informal workers on the map

Ekasi to the Burbs comes at a time when South Africa's employment crisis remains one of the country's biggest social and economic challenges.

According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey from Statistics South Africa, the official unemployment rate climbed to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 32.7% in the first quarter.

The number of unemployed people increased by 345 000 to 8.5 million, while the number of employed people fell by 16 000 to 16.7 million.

Young South Africans are particularly hard hit. Youth unemployment among people aged 15 to 34 reached 47.4%, with the number of unemployed young people rising to five million.

The figures paint a bleak picture - but behind every statistic is someone like Mkonkholo waiting for an opportunity.

A digital alternative to the roadside job hunt

Bhayat says Ekasi to the Burbs is not intended to replace the informal employment system, but to modernise the way workers and potential employers find one another.

“Ekasi to the Burbs is an open listing board, not a verification agency,” he explains.

Workers can upload whatever documents they have, allowing households to view their profiles before making their own hiring decisions.

“By law, households must ensure anyone they hire has the right to work in South Africa,” Bhayat said.

The project has now reached the funding review stages of the Technology Innovation Agency’s Grassroots Innovation Programme, marking an important step for the Hout Bay-born initiative.

Can technology create a bridge to opportunity?

For workers like Mkonkholo, the value of such a platform could ultimately come down to one thing: whether it helps turn hours of waiting into hours of paid work.

South Africa's unemployment figures may seem overwhelming, but solutions do not always have to begin in boardrooms or government offices.

Sometimes, they can start in a community — with someone asking a simple question: What if the people looking for work could be connected directly with the people looking for their skills?

For Bhayat, Ekasi to the Burbs is an attempt to answer that question.

And for workers standing at the roadside hoping for their next job, even one new opportunity could make a difference.

"I'm looking to launch the app officially around mid-September, just tying up some loose ends and making sure everything is efficient and ready by the time we launch it," he said.