My Experience With Efiko in Jos - A Marketplace For Freelancers

efiko.co one of the first freelance marketplace or platform in Nigeria came to nHub In Jos on the 28th of June 2017.



I  was impressed to see what the team behind the marketplace had put together. I was a little skeptical at first given the examples of freelance platforms that have tried to break into the Nigerian space and failed.   But what followed was a well-structured demonstration for a product that seemed to tick the right boxes when it came to what a freelance platform should do. It should solve the main problems in traditional freelancing, some of which include:

From a client's perspective:

• Access to quality and rated freelance professionals.
• Agreeing on a price within your budget & the market average.
• And lastly, getting value for your money.

From a freelancers: 

• Getting consistent paying work especially outside of where you live.
• Settling on a price that matches your skills & experience level.
• Getting compensated for the work you have done.

So what is efiko?

It’s a freelance marketplace for the Nigerian & African market. They just launched in Beta and their aim is to move the freelance economy online, bridging the gap in the traditional market by building a platform that protects the interest of both clients and freelancers ( Efikos ), using Escrow Payment technology.Clients only pay for work they receive and approve, while freelancers only work on projects that have been fully funded. It’s kind of like the global freelance platforms Upwork & Fiverr, except for the Nigerian market. The team believes localizing the market allows us trade within ourselves as opposed to a global audience.

If you are a freelancer in the beautiful city in Jos or anywhere else in Nigeria, then heading to their website and signing is definitely what you should do. The efiko team also went to Bluehub in Kano and Colab in Kaduna for demonstration. It's a little unconventional in the Nigerian space but I think its genius because that one event at nHub made me a believer and anyone else fortunate enough to meet the team in person will feel the same I am sure.

This article was written by Awom Kenneth and was shared here with the permission of the author.