People & Profit

From food delivery and ride-hailing apps to handywork and domestic services, millions of people around the globe work within the so-called gig economy – a term applied to independent contractors or freelancers, usually on digital apps. While the flexibility offered by online gig platforms can be attractive, it comes at the cost of limited job security, lack of social protection and sometimes exploitation. But gig workers are getting organised with protests and even some advances. To better understand the plight of these workers, Charles Pellegrin talks to Jamie Woodcock, a senior lecturer in digital economy at King's College London and author of "The Fight Against Platform Capitalism: An Inquiry into the Global Struggles of the Gig Economy".

Also in the programme, we bring you a report from our correspondent in China, where all three of the country's top delivery platforms almost simultaneously announced new social security benefits for their drivers in March. 

The fight against malnutrition, the world's leading cause of infant mortality, was chronically underfunded even before the US halted its funding for humanitarian aid and development. As Paris hosts the Nutrition for Growth summit this week, we look at how healthy eating isn't just a developmental issue but also an economic one. Every dollar invested in nutrition generates a return of 23 dollars, while malnutrition can cost up to tens of billions of dollars to the economy. So why is hunger and malnutrition still an issue today and how do we generate the political will to fix this problem? Charles Pellegrin talks to Joel Spicer, president and CEO of Nutrition International and Cleo Kawawaki of the Asian Development Bank.

Watch moreGlobal nutrition crisis: UNICEF head insists that investing in children 'pays off forever’

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released its Global Debt Report for 2025, and the conclusion is that the world is practically drowning in debt at record levels. As European nations pledge to boost their defence spending in the face of a new transatlantic security reality, and as burgeoning trade wars threaten to raise prices faster, are countries able to achieve growth while keeping borrowing in check? FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks to Carmine Di Noia, the OECD's Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. 

Since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russia's economy has proved to be robust despite sanctions, inflation and labour shortages. But how long can it last? Charles Pellegrin takes a deep dive with his guest Richard Connolly, associate fellow and specialist on the Russian economy at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in the UK. He is also the author of a commentary titled “Russia’s Wartime Economy isn’t as Weak as it Looks”.

Online scamming has reached global proportions, with an estimated 200,000 people forced to execute lucrative scams in Myanmar and Cambodia alone. This week's show delves into a criminal activity that's grown into a $500 billion per year industry that now rivals the illegal drug trade in size. Charles Pellegrin speaks to Sue-Lin Wong, The Economist’s Southeast Asia correspondent and creator of an eight-part podcast investigation into the scamming industry entitled "Scam Inc". 

The economy is a top concern for voters in Germany as they go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new government. The country has seen two consecutive years of economic contraction and this stagnation could very well continue for a third year. Its post-Covid recovery was completely stunted by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis that followed, laying bare Berlin's deep dependence on Moscow's oil and gas. Now the return of Donald Trump as US president is further muddying the prospects for growth. To better understand how Germany got here and how it can dig itself out of this hole, Charles Pellegrin talks to Shahin Vallée, senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. 

After the Paris AI Action Summit wrapped up earlier this week, we look at the future of AI governance and its impact on the global economy. In a bid to make up for lost time, Europe and France have pledged significant boosts in artificial intelligence investments and promised to keep regulations from stifling innovation. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to Sasha Rubel, European head of generative AI policy at Amazon Web Services, and Alexandre Zapolsky, the president and co-founder of Linagora, a French open-source software editor and creator of the Lucie chatbot, which has made quite a few headlines in the past few weeks.

Political leaders, tech executives, scientists and experts are gathering to Paris to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. Summit host France dreams of becoming a leader in the disruptive technology. Back in 2018, President Emmanuel Macron launched a national strategy to mobilize €2.5 billion in public and private funds to develop homegrown applications. But competition is fierce, and the US and China have a particularly strong lead over European firms. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to France's special envoy for the AI Action Summit, Anne Bouverot. In addition to being mandated with organising this event, she also presides over France's commission on artificial intelligence and has had a long career as a tech executive and researcher.

In this special edition from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Charles Pellegrin sits down with Nigeria's Industry, Trade and Investment⁣ Minister Jumoke Oduwole. They discuss the return of Donald Trump as US president and how his policies might impact the oil-rich African country, as well as the challenges of diversifying the economy and attracting investors. Following a change in administration in May 2023, Nigeria has been pursuing bold economic reforms but inflation still remains high. Will 2025 will bring the "renewed hope" promised by Bola Tinubu's administration? 

This week we're in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, where global leaders from the world of politics, business and academia get together and assess the obstacles facing the global economy in the upcoming year. This year, all eyes are on US President Donald Trump. How will his policies impact the world in 2025?  Charles Pellegrin talks to Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer, who publishes a global risk report each year. 

Another buzzword in Davos this year is AI. Progress in artificial intelligence is advancing at a rapid pace, but regulators are struggling to keep up and opting for a lighter touch – thereby leaving the risks and collateral damage of AI unchecked. Meanwhile, international cooperation on the topic appears to be faltering.

For more on this topic we speak to Eric Xing, who is president of the world's only AI-focused university, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi and co-founder of GenBio AI, a biotech company that has succeeded in developing the first phase of the world's first AI digital organism.