A Kenyan banking innovation aimed at helping gig workers access working capital has been selected among only five solutions globally to be showcased at the United Nations Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York in September.
TekeTeke, developed by a team from I&M Bank, emerged as Kenya's top innovation in the 2026 SDG Innovation Accelerator for Young Professionals before being selected for the global showcase alongside teams from Nigeria, Ghana, the United Kingdom and China. The programme is run by Global Compact Network Kenya and is designed to turn workplace challenges into scalable solutions with business and social value.
The innovation targets a problem that affects a large part of Kenya's workforce: earning an income without having the conventional financial records banks often require when assessing borrowers.
What Is TekeTeke?
TekeTeke explores ways of using the financial and work activity of gig workers to improve access to flexible working capital, enabling them to manage irregular cash flows, grow their businesses and build financial resilience.
This is significant in a country where informal employment dominates the labour market. The International Labour Organization (ILO) describes Kenya as having a large informal economy that plays a major role in employment and income generation, while informal workers generally face greater economic vulnerability and weaker access to protections.
For a boda boda rider, courier, freelancer or other independent worker, income can be real but irregular. Without a payslip or conventional employment contract, however, proving the ability to repay a loan can be difficult. That is the gap TekeTeke is attempting to address.
The innovation could therefore offer a new route to formal financial services for some of Kenya's millions of informal workers, particularly younger people increasingly turning to platform-based and independent work as traditional employment opportunities remain limited.
I&M Regional CEO Kihara Maina described the global selection as a recognition of Kenyan talent, stating "This recognition is a proud moment not only for I&M Bank but also for Kenya. Being selected among only five teams globally demonstrates what is possible when we empower young talent to tackle real business and societal challenges through innovation."
Maina added: "At I&M, we believe sustainable business growth comes from creating solutions that improve lives while strengthening our business, and we are delighted to see our people representing Kenya on the global stage."
Speaking for the innovation team, Jesca Chepkoech said the idea came directly from the financial realities facing gig workers, saying "TekeTeke was inspired by the everyday realities faced by thousands of gig workers who often have income opportunities but limited access to flexible working capital."
She added: "The Accelerator challenged us to think differently about how banking can become more inclusive, and we are excited to share our solution with innovators from around the world."
The scale of the potential market is considerable. Kenya's informal economy employs more than 15 million people, according to research by Laterite, while the country's labour-market authorities continue to identify youth unemployment and underemployment as major challenges.
But TekeTeke's biggest test will come after the global showcase. The information currently available in public domain, according to spot checks by Vantage Ke, does not establish when the innovation will become a commercial product, how much workers could borrow, what it would cost or exactly how eligibility would be determined.
Those details will determine whether TekeTeke remains an award-winning innovation or becomes a practical financial tool for Kenya's gig economy.
The I&M team — Albert Lumumba, Lucian Ouma, Beyu Anjichi and Jesca Chepkoech — will present the innovation to global business leaders, policymakers and sustainability experts in New York in September.
For Kenya's gig workers, the real significance is straightforward: if banks can learn to assess how independent workers actually earn and use that information to provide affordable working capital, the absence of a traditional payslip may no longer have to mean the absence of access to finance.
