Why SMEs Need to Hire African-Based Freelancers

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post written by Nicolas Goldstein, Co-Founder of Talenteum.Africa. 

As remote work continues to become more and more popular all over the world, Africa is leaning towards the same trend, specifically as the rise of online freelance platforms or talent ready to work remotely is becoming increasingly noticeable.  

With that, many Western countries continue to perceive Africa from an angle that is no longer relevant. However, it can be said loud and clear that now is the perfect time for companies in these countries to trust an extraordinary, innovative talent pool, which is waiting for only one thing, to implement its advanced technological and technical skills that are less and less available locally.

African-Based Freelancers: A Pool of Talent

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more companies are optimizing their operating model, including freelancers.

Here’s why companies and businesses should be focusing on recruiting remote talent, specifically those based in Africa. 

• Thanks to a better division of tasks, teams can work at a calmer pace and rely on equivalent skills to move forward in their projects.
• Resources, both internal and external, benefit from a better work-life balance, a factor of adhesion and motivation for each party.
• The presence of remote freelancers significantly reduces exposure to the disease, an essential criterion given the current context.
• Companies can rationalize their expenses, for example, on rental costs, which are inevitable when you have physical offices. In addition, they can recruit more advanced skills while saving on their payroll.

As for the West, there are a lot of talks about the lack of manpower in all sectors combined, but perhaps a little more in Information and Communication Technology. Several factors are involved, including the expensive cost of higher education or a brake on the evolution of skills. This is bad news, considering that the next few years will require increasingly advanced and flexible professional capacities.

Africa, which not only has a very young population, but also, the fastest growing population on the planet, is expecting to see a major rise in people entering the workforce.

Bottom Line

Africa is the cradle of humanity and even today it holds an extraordinary amount of potential and wealth. However, it also must deal with a particular problem: that of the current mismatch between supply and demand resulting in deep-rooted unemployment among young people.

With 420 million people aged between 15 and 35 today, a figure that is expected to rise to 830 million by 2050, businesses outside the continent have everything to gain by laying the groundwork now to reap all the possible benefits from such a pool.

How Can You Trust Remote Freelancers?

The selection of candidates is an essential step, which requires the utmost care.

At Talenteum Africa, a pan-African platform specializing in social bridging, talents are chosen from a competitive process based on an assessment of psychometric abilities and skills. We also take a close look at the passion, commitment and team spirit required for effective integration with any remote team.

African-based freelancers are the next big disruption! Are you ready?

Nicolas Goldstein is the Co-Founder of Talenteum.Africa, and is very involved in the Tech ecosystem in Africa and in the Indian Ocean region. He is currently on board of The French Tech Mauritius Label. Nicolas is also dedicated to the growth of his web platform Talenteum.Africa which he founded with John Benatouil in order to offer potential talents in Africa to work remotely for global companies.