The African Freelancer sector is still struggling even though it is booming globally. Despite the high unemployment rate and high population rate in Africa, statistics show that only 10% of Africans are Freelancers.

This figure is a small fraction in comparison with other continents worldwide and should be considered a setback for Africa. Over the years, Africans have displayed talents that will be needed in organizations around the world, and there is a pool of talent that is yet to be explored which when applied to Freelancing will give Africa the recognition it deserves in the Freelancing Sector.

With this talent in Africa, what are the problems affecting the African freelancing sector? Let’s consider the major Problems facing the African freelancing market.

7 Major Problems Facing The African Freelancing Sector.

1. Lack Of Recognized Digital Training Platforms For African Freelancers

Africans are indeed talented but then, talent can only be turned into valuable Skills if there is proper knowledge and mentorship. Africans are teachable, and in most cases ready to gain necessary knowledge but they have little or no opportunities for this knowledge.

Africans’ definition of education is focused on attending a university that teaches how to work in an office and site. They have placed more priority on physical university classes rather than virtual training that targets digital skills needed in Freelancing.

Undoubtedly, freelancers majorly need to learn and master digital skills to work for organizations around the world from their remote locations. Education in Africa does not emphasize the possibility of working from home, they constantly preach white-collar jobs and in most cases teach handcrafted skills such as entrepreneurship education, students in Africa have not fully embraced the digital education system.

Digital Training Platforms are yet to be recognized in Africa as part of the reputable education needed to succeed in working and gaining wealth. Because of these limitations, course creators are discouraged and are lagging in training Freelancers

2. High Rate Of Internet Fees In Africa.

To attend digital training needed to become a freelancer, the students need data and internet access. The rate of purchasing data bundles in Africa is very high.

For instance, Nigerian Network providers charge about one thousand naira which is equivalent to $3 for a 1GB subscription that exhausts in less than 24 hours when watching a recorded video of a digital course.

To undergo a one-week training online the student will spend close to $30, this is quite expensive and discourages the student. I know a student of a digital training platform who narrated how she missed classes because she couldn’t afford data for a month’s training.

Apart from students, Freelancers in Africa are faced with this challenge. Imagine a Freelancer who will have to spend $30 a week to work on a client job of $50. The high internet access fee is another major challenge affecting the African freelancing sector.

3. Lack Of Constant Power Supply

In most African countries including the giant of Africa Nigeria, the constant power supply is a challenge. Most African countries cannot boast of 12 hours of daily power supply, some areas are not even connected to electricity supply.

The importance of electricity to Freelancers cannot be overemphasized, devices like laptops, cell phones, and desktops used to carry out job roles for clients need to be charged and some are connected to electricity constantly. Power failure makes it difficult for Freelancers to work from home in Africa.

In some cases, Freelancers are not able to meet project deadlines because of a lack of electricity to power their devices which can make them lose clients and get no pay, or ratings, and build good working relationships.

4. Discrimination and Racism Challenge

Africans are mostly discriminated against on various Freelancing platforms by foreign clients who do not show regard for blacks. Some clients assume that Africans are unprofessional because the continent is underdeveloped and less technologically inclined.

While some clients believe that Africans are slaves and they should not be given opportunities to work for them. Some of the jobs listed on Freelancing platforms like Upwork are directed to specific countries and freelancers who are not from this part of the world cannot apply, that is why some African freelancers open foreign accounts to attract clients.

Some African Freelancers have experienced various harsh treatments from foreign clients, some even get blocked by clients when they mention they are Africans. This treatment is not surprising due to the fraudulent activities of some Africans caused by unemployment.

5. The Stereotype Issue

There is this negative stereotype associated with working at home in Africa. Africans tend to assume anyone who does not dress up and leave for an office in Africa is Lazy and jobless and Freelancing jobs are majorly done from home although some work in an office.

Another stereotype is that anyone who wants money but does not own a business known to the public or work for someone else either government or private organizations is regarded as a fraudster.

This is not even surprising because the majority of the youth in Africa is engaged in internet fraudulent activities popularly known as “Yahoo Yahoo “ in Nigeria. This popular stereotype has made Africans shy away from exploring career opportunities present online.

6. Lack Of Adequate Technology

Technology is the lifeblood of Freelancing, a freelancer who has no access to adequate Technology to carry out job roles cannot satisfy clients’ demands. These technologies involve laptops, cell phones, and desktop computers which are not easily accessible in some remote African countries.

These gadgets are quite expensive in Africa due to the rising exchange rate, the prices are not affordable for Freelancers, especially beginners who are yet to start learning.

In a survey in WorkupVarsity, a platform that trains Freelancers in Africa, it was discovered that most of the students do not own a laptop because they cannot afford to buy one. One of the students lost a gig from a client because the client discovered that he took a Zoom interview session with a cell phone and not a computer. This poses a threat to African freelancers

7. High Service Charge Of Freelancing Platforms

The service charges paid by Freelancers in most Freelancing Marketplaces are high. Platforms like Upwork charge 20% from a $500 earning,10% service charge on earnings from $500 — $10,000, and even small earnings as low as $10 attract service charges. These charges are especially high for Africans because of the high exchange rate.

Aside from the service charge, connects are required to apply for jobs on Upwork and other Freelancing Platforms, this connection is also paid for in dollars which is high compared to the devalued currency in Africa. Whether a freelancer gets job invites or not, his connection will not be refunded as long as he applies for the job.

Discover How We Help

These challenges listed above may seem too ambiguous to solve but they can be solved by creating Platforms that will help sharpen the African freelancing sector. There is a platform that we have built that can help.

Let’s consider how we can help curb the challenges through the Workupvarsity platform:

1. Opportunities To Learn Digital Freelancing Skills

The WorkupVarsity Platform is a well-structured Freelancing Platform that provides Opportunities for Africans to learn high-demand freelance skills as well as providing opportunities for solid portfolio building.

As we transcend into the global Freelancing markets, we will establish partnerships with organizations around the world where our trained freelancers can work as paid interns for a specific period.

With WorkupVarsity, Africans can dominate the global Freelancing Sector and set the pace for other Freelancers around the world. We will raise, train, mentor, and provide opportunities to Freelancers in Africa and beyond.

Aside from Freelancing, our training model will include general digital skills training for students who do not wish to become Freelancers but take advantage of the digital space.

2. Creation Of Freelancing Awareness Across Africa

As a platform that is passionate about the African freelancing sector, WorkupVarsity will promote and launch campaigns that will create awareness across Africa to enlighten them on Freelancing Opportunities. We are preparing our activities to extend our campaign against the Stereotype attached to digital education and jobs across Africa. As an educational platform, we are on a mission to help African society see the value of digital education and practice and not just offline university education.

3. Offering Paid Internships to Newbie Freelancers

With a strategic partnership with various firms and startups across Africa, we have a financial system ready to sponsor most of our newbie freelancers to secure paid internships. This will help them to develop their newly acquired skill to suit the labor market and also give them the experience of how work is. Our paid internship program has a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 6 months of working time.

4. Room for Scaling

We develop Workupvarsity in such a way that it can be scaled easily in a way to help Africa curb unemployment through freelancing. We can later have a dedicated payment gateway to favor African freelancers, and also an African freelancing marketplace that will compete with the likes of Upwork, Freelancer, and others.

Conclusion

The challenges faced by freelancers in Africa are the major cause of the stagnant growth of the sector. The Freelancing Sector in Africa can only climb above the ladder of 10% if these challenges are not properly settled.

Solutions to these major challenges will no doubt skyrocket the Freelancing statistics in Africa. These challenges might seem unresolvable due to the nature of Africa, but they can be solved to a large extent with greater attention.

WorkupVarsity will to a large extent produce solutions to these challenges as stated above. The African Freelancing Sector should embrace and register with Workupvarsity to bring about these notable changes.