Pavel Shynkarenko, an entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in fintech, founder and CEO of Solar Staff, a payroll company for freelancers
As more companies adapt to the reality of remote work, cross-border freelancing has boomed, and I see this as creating a two-fold value proposition. For companies, there is the possibility of accessing global talent at a fraction of the cost. For professionals, getting an international freelancing job means that they can substantially increase their income.
Factors That Influence Freelancer Talent Pools
So, where are the best places to find skilled contractors? Let’s first address the factors that influence whether a region can become an attractive freelancer talent pool.
Internet Penetration
Having a solid internet connection and wide coverage is a must for cross-border freelancing. There are three critical indicators for you to consider: The number of daily internet users, the percentage of internet coverage and speed. According to the Speed Test Global Index, India boasts high mobile and broadband internet speeds, reaching 36.35 Mbps and 51.12 Mbps, respectively. In comparison, Pakistan’s speeds lag behind, with figures of 16.34 Mbps for mobile and 11.22 Mbps for broadband.
Education Level And English Proficiency
To establish a freelancer market, it’s helpful to look at the percentage of the population that is tech-savvy, has a higher or specialized education and is fluent in English, given that the majority of companies are either based in the U.S., the U.K. or operate globally. For example, the Philippines, a significant player in the global freelancer market, has over 90 million English speakers, which represents 88% of the country’s population.
Low Domestic Demand
If opportunities within a specific field are abundant within the country of origin, freelancers are less likely to look for jobs elsewhere. So, domestic demand for a particular job must be lower than the number of professionals available for hire. This helps lead to the formation of a developer’s freelance talent pool.
Low Average Wage Level
Skilled professionals like to be compensated adequately for their services; if wages are low in their domestic market, professionals will look for freelancing opportunities abroad. For example, PayScale estimates that the average yearly salary for a software developer in India is a little over $7,000, while working for an international company can pay several times more.
Regions To Look For Skilled Contractors
Based on these factors and my own experience, I see four desirable international markets where you can look if you are seeking to find some of the most capable freelancers in the world.
India
Top industries for freelancers: Support (technical support), IT, developers and translators.
Pros: Affordable labor force, good level of English proficiency.
While only one in five Indian adults speaks English, the statistics are very different regarding skilled professionals. Also, given the large size of its population, that means that 125 million Indians speak English, which makes them the second-largest English-speaking country in the world after the United States. Since the market does not generate enough demand for professionals and the average salaries tend to be low, many are looking for alternatives elsewhere. While a great deal has gone to countries like the United States and the United Kingdom as permanent employees, for many, a more attractive solution is to become freelancers and leverage a higher salary earned abroad to get a better quality of life in their home country.
Eastern Europe
Top industries for freelancers: High-skilled developers and IT professionals, marketing and advertising.
Pros: High qualifications, good education level, a sufficient level of English proficiency and experience working with foreign companies.
I find that countries like Ukraine have a very small domestic market for qualified talent but a large number of skilled professionals, given the high quality of their education system. It is estimated that there are over 500,000 Ukrainian freelancers, many of whom provide services to Western companies. Given the critical times that the country is going through, this inflow of wealth via freelancing has become an important bastion of support for its younger generations.
Africa
Top industries for freelancers: Basic tasks (such as data annotation for AI), employees for high-risk industries (such as online casinos).
Pros: Very affordable labor force, willingness from employees to perform routine operations and highly motivated to improve themselves financially.
Though diverse, many regions in the African market have a low domestic demand for skilled professionals and offer low wages. Because the average education level that freelancers have is not high, I see the African freelancer market as primarily suitable for less specialized tasks. Other problems include a lack of internet coverage and unstable infrastructure, which often causes connectivity problems.
However, due to the alignment of low labor costs and a high financial incentive by the workforce, the freelancer market in Africa is increasing. It is estimated that around 10% of the world’s freelancers are on the continent, and this is expected to grow.
Latin America
Top industries for freelancers: Media, content creation and software development.
Pros: Good level of education, especially in humanities. Quality content production, experience working with American companies and time zone alignment.
I find that Latin America, driven by its high level of education—especially when it comes to humanities—is a solid freelance talent pool. In my experience, content production is done at a very high level, including video and other types of visual and auditory content. Hispanic agencies are well-known for setting records at festivals such as the Cannes Lions. While there is still a disparity in salaries that can attract workers in these countries, the region tends to have a higher cost of labor when compared to the others I have mentioned.
As the cross-border freelancer market keeps growing, it is likely that every region will try to capitalize on new trends and produce a skilled workforce that can generate financial and social benefits. In this way, freelancing is creating one global labor market.
In order to realize the benefits of this new world, it is important to pay attention to the aforementioned indicators and do the proper due diligence. Being informed can help you obtain a good return on your investment when it comes to freelancers, kickstarting a positive value chain.
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