On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, leading platform companies operating across more than 100 countries launched global principles for the platform-enabled economy.
As technology continues to scale and enable new forms of work, leading platform companies have come together to define a shared, values-driven vision for responsible leadership and innovation. These principles demonstrate industry commitment and advance broader dialogue in support of fair, inclusive, and sustainable platform-enabled economies.
Digital platforms have created a new form of work, founded on new business models that have shown exponential promise – for consumers, and for platform workers. Twelve months ago at the World Economic Forum 2025, Prosus published the Livelihoods in a Digital World report, highlighting best practices from platforms creating flexible, tech-driven work opportunities, while exploring how these platforms support income generation and address challenges like fairness and regulation within the gig economy.
At the launch of the Principles at WEF 2026, Prajna Khanna, Chief Sustainability Officer said, “The urgent imperative for this young global industry economy is to balance the autonomy of gig workers with a commitment to their dignity, protection and stability.”
The co-designed framework of principles guides this shared commitment, with the aim of empowering platform workers and scaling positive action across diverse markets and regions. It is structured around three core pillars, balancing innovation with choice, fairness, and opportunity to deliver better outcomes for platform workers, economies and societies.
- Access & Opportunity – Platforms can expand access to work by reducing barriers to entry and enabling autonomy and flexibility, allowing workers to choose when, where, and how much they work.
- Earnings & Benefits – Transparent, fair, and timely earnings, alongside access to essential protections and benefits, are critical to supporting sustainable livelihoods.
- Platform Working Environment – Safe, supportive, and respectful working environments, strengthened by training, safety tools, wellbeing initiatives, and meaningful worker voice.
The principles represent a first step towards stronger collaboration and alignment across the industry. Under the umbrella of the Future of Jobs Initiative, sustained dialogue and collaboration with multiple stakeholders will continue to inform efforts and advance a fair, inclusive and sustainable in the platform-enabled economy.
