1. What was the problem you were trying to solve by establishing jobs4mzansi?
I wanted to create a simple and safe way to do business online. The idea in itself is quite simple – the platform connects people who do not have the knowledge, skills or time to perform a particular task to those who are interested in using their knowledge, skills or time to make money online. However, as we all know, online transactions are not always simple and transparent. Therefore, it was important to me that I build a platform that is 100% transparent. Service providers are able to showcase their skills and determine their fixed prices and delivery times so that prospective clients know exactly what they are signing up for when ordering a particular service. The website also has a built-in instant messaging system, so that users are able to communicate their expectations in a clear and transparent manner before deciding to do business together. Apart from transparency, accountability was another problem that I wanted to solve. I wanted to remove fear and anxiety from online transactions so that clients have peace of mind knowing that should their chosen service provider fail to deliver on time or as promised, they will receive a 100% refund. On the other hand, should the service provider feel that the client is unreasonable in the sense that the agreed upon work has been delivered but the client just won’t approve it, the service provider can send an electronic dispute request via the website, in which case, jobs4mzansi will investigate the matter, weigh up both arguments and transfer the money into the bank account of the individual who won the dispute.
2. How is this platform help people to get jobs and find side hustles?
The platform allows people to use words and images to showcase their knowledge and skills. This information is then integrated with our advanced search and filter system that spans across multiple job categories, ensuring that job seekers are easily discoverable when clients search for specific knowledge and skills to complete a particular task. jobs4mzansi recognizes that everyone has knowledge, skills, talents and hobbies. At the very least, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. Therefore, it makes no sense why people should be unemployed or broke when we can use our knowledge, skills, talents, hobbies or time to perform a simple task for someone who is willing to pay us to perform that task.
3. What distinguishes jobs4mzansi platform from others in the market? What are the benefits of this platform?
There are so many freelance platforms in the world, including Fiverr and Upwork. These platforms have millions of freelancers around the world all competing for the same micro jobs. The beauty of our platform is that it is still very young and has only a few hundred registered users at this point. This increases the probability of a freelancer landing a job offer on our platform. Furthermore, the bulk of the freelance talent on these large platforms comes from India, which leaves South Africans at a disadvantage because we simply cannot outcompete these freelancers on the basis of price given that we have completely different standards of living. Another great benefit of jobs4mzansi is that we only hire South Africans. We do this so that South Africans do not have to sell themselves short by underpricing their services in an effort to compete with the cheap labour sourced from India.
4. Who is your main target market with this platform?
On the supply side of the marketplace, we are targeting the unemployed South African; the working professional who wants to supplement their salary; the student who wants to earn pocket money to sustain their campus lifestyle; and the entrepreneur who wants to sell a service offering to a highly targeted audience. On the demand side of the marketplace, we are targeting the aspiring entrepreneur who has a business idea but does not have the necessary skills to perform a particular task; the brand that would like to save money by outsourcing a digital service; and the busy working professional who would like to outsource the help of a virtual assistant.
5. What are the challenges of deploying this digital platform in South Africa?
The main challenge that I have encountered thus far is educating people on this new way of working. Traditionally, people would manually apply for jobs and these jobs would be permanent posts that would require the job seeker to be in a physical work environment as they patiently wait for the end of the month to get paid. However, we work completely differently – Instead of applying for jobs, we enable job seekers to be head hunted directly by clients. Instead of offering permanent posts, we offer short-term contracts where freelancers get paid every time they successfully complete a task. Instead of forcing people to work in an office, we encourage our freelancers to work from home, which is why we provide services that can be completed virtually. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, we have seen that remote working is not only possible but that it could easily be the future of work life. Therefore, I hope that, in time, people will adapt to this new way of working and will therefore embrace the platform.
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