Skille Technologies is connecting digital freelancers to customers. #40Days40FinTechs Zambia and Malawi edition, Day 23

World over, the Gig economy is fast-growing, offering millions of people with a decent livelihood.

According to Investopedia, the gig economy, also known as the sharing economy or access economy, refers to a labor market characterized by short-term, independent work, often accessed through digital platforms. This includes freelance, contract, or project-based work, as opposed to traditional employment with a regular salary and benefits.

The gig economy relies heavily on temporary and part-time positions filled by independent contractors and freelancers rather than full-time permanent employees.

In Zambia, Skille Technologies Limited is using a ‘Gig Economy approach’ to connect freelancers to available gigs – short term work.

“We are a market place for digital services. As a client who needs digital services such as website development, influencer marketing, graphics designing, and anything you need for your business to grow or upscale, we are a platform that provides that for you. You just come to Skille and at a click of a button, you check the service you need, find a sustainable freelancer and get the work done,” noted Kabwe Chama Nkandu, a co-founder at Skille Technologies.

She added: “All our freelancers subscribe to be listed. For any freelancer to be connected to a client, you must be a subscribed member. This means that we vet all service providers, their levels of competence and professionalism. We do this because we want to give value to our customers, not just onboarding anybody.”

She noted that once a client is connected to an available service provider, and payment details agreed; the client then pays to Skille, who in turn hold the payment and only remit it to the service provider once the procured service has been provided as per the client request.

“The clients pay directly to our platform, we hold the money and only pay the freelancer once the job is completed. It is from this payment that we also get our commission directly.”

Nkandu noted that the roll-out of Skille has been a rollercoaster as the market is not yet fully accustomed to digital payments, with customers worried about cyber fraud while majority are still comfortable with cash-based transactions.

“Some freelancers don’t want to be paid on the platform. They insist on being paid cash away from the platform. So, what we have done is that there is no communication or connection between the freelancers and the customers seeking services. We manage the communication on the platform but we know that some people do further communication away from the platform. In this case, whatever challenge that comes off the platform is not our challenge to address.”

Nkandu applauded the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative noting that the knowledge shared and visibility given to participants will propel the FinTech Industry to greater heights.

Skille Technologies was featured on Day 23 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative; Zambia and Malawi edition. The roll-out of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative in Zambia and Malawi followed its success in East Africa. Over the past 5 years, the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has featured over 200 FinTech stories from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda. This initiative has also engaged hundreds of end-users and shared their stories with millions worldwide.

The primary objective of this initiative is to support and showcase innovative FinTech giants and start-ups from across Africa, with a focus on promoting financial inclusion and economic growth, in addition to giving start-ups access to the resources they need to develop new and innovative financial solutions that can benefit underserved populations. Such resources include but are not limited to Level One Project guidelines, Mojaloop Open Source Software and Inclusive Finance systems, etc.