Written by Alison Tan and Anne Miltenburg.
MESH is a professional social network platform founded with a mission to empower young Kenyans (aged 18-35) in the informal economy. The MESH platform offers its users educational business content, networking opportunities with peers and mentors, access to gig work opportunities, and access to finance. The platform has experienced rapid growth since its establishment in 2021, hitting an active user base of over 560,000 people as of January 2025.
A year and a half into their operations, MESH’s data-driven team noticed a significant and sustained gender imbalance in their user base. Female users made up only 30% of their user base despite equal representation of both genders in Kenya’s informal economy and nearly equal initial registration rates. Since 2023, they have taken a number of steps to remove barriers to women entrepreneurs online. Based on data showing a high dropout rate, MESH conducted data analysis and human-centered design to understand and address issues around female participation. This led to the development of an enhanced value proposition on the platform with an intentional gender lens built into it. These have helped create gender parity in MESH’s user base.
In February 2024, MESH partnered with 60 Decibels and Caribou Digital to listen directly to their female users about the quality of their experience with the new platform and impact on their lives. 60 Decibels conducted phone interviews with 283 female MESH users (MESHers) who are actively engaged in income-generating activities. They told us about the changes MESH is enabling in their lives while also sharing concrete suggestions for how the company could improve its services.
MESH is providing women in the Kenyan informal economy one-of-its-kind entrepreneurship support. 58% of women were accessing services like MESH’s for the first time and 87% could not easily find alternatives. Through our conversations with MESHers, we got insight into how MESH’s deliberate efforts to design for women were paying off.
MESH’s user research showed that women face harassment in work environments, both in-person and in the form of online bullying over digital platforms. MESH actively advises its partners recruiting women onsite to make their physical jobs safer. It has further taken steps like simplifying its community guidelines into local vernacular and making them prominent on their platform and sharing monthly safety tips with women to help them feel confident and safe doing business online. By countering the abundance of misleading information on finding online work that exists on the internet, MESH aims to empower its female users (as well as male) with trustworthy information. And it’s working! Our data showed that 98% of female users saying they feel safe using MESH’s online services, indicating that the platform is doing a great job with creating a safe working environment for women.
MESH has made a conscious effort to provide women entrepreneurs access to multiple professional development opportunities. One of the most common challenges faced by women in business is the lack of role models to learn from. Until 2023, MESH’s team of content creators was 70% male and 30% female, making female creators less visible on their platform compared to male counterparts. MESH’s user research also showed that women did not feel as comfortable learning from the primarily male creators. To address this, the MESH team recruited new female creators and noticed an uptake in the content consumed by women. The platform also has a women-only group for knowledge exchange and networking that every female MESHer is invited to, as well as a women-only mentorship program to make it easier for women to find guidance and learn from female peers.
This emerged as a key driver of satisfaction in our study, contributing to MESH’s excellent Net Promoter Score score of 87. Promoters of MESH listed mentorship and training as their most valued feature in MESH. In fact, they are more likely to use MESH’s skilling and mentorship service than its work / business opportunities. In the future, the MESH team hopes to further scale their mentorship program by introducing a matchmaking element between prospective mentors and mentees.
“I get help whenever I ask a question. I have been able to access a financial loan easily. I get mentorship, business opportunities, and this really helps someone who wants to grow in business.”
Female, 30
The personal and business growth that women are experiencing through their engagement with MESH is helping them improve their livelihood as well as their social standing. 90% of respondents said their income increased because of MESH, with 32% saying their income increased by more than half. With additional income in hand, women talk about playing a bigger role in their household and the community.
8 in 10 women were able to contribute more to household expenses. A similar proportion noticed a difference in their ability to contribute to decision-making at the business, household and/or community level. When asked to describe this change, women talked about having a greater say in financial management and feeling more comfortable providing advice and guidance to their female peers.
“The stat that blew my mind was the one on agency. 37% of the respondents said that they now have a bigger say in their household finances. That is huge! To see the impact that we’re making reflected in numbers and stories is incredibly motivating as a team, especially when it comes from a third party, reputable source like 60 Decibels. We do our own research of course, but we are always cautious that your desire for positive outcomes creates bias and skews results. We were elated to see them come out of an independent study by global experts. That gives you the energy you need to push on.” – Anne Miltenburg, Brand Director at MESH
“For the household, I used to chip-in for house shopping but now my husband and I sit and discuss how we manage expenses each month. I am contributing substantially even towards other recurring bills.”
Female, 28
The MESH team found their 60dB study valuable for sharing impact success with partners and stakeholders. The insights, combining qualitative quotes and quantitative data, have proved useful in various situations, including funding applications, press requests and board meetings. A concise outtake report was created to maximize the findings’ impact.
The report also became a source of internal motivation and strategic guidance. The external validation resonated with the team, kickstarting conversations and informing strategic decision-making.
MESH is set to launch a new app version in early 2025, building on its continued success in changing the narrative around young Kenyans in the gig economy. It was designed with a special focus on women and we’re excited to see what MESHers feel about it.
