I shared an article on freelancing in Nigeria some days back, and interestingly, that came on the heels of me getting published…abi na featured? On techpoint.ng. Well sha, I was really happy to hear your feedback, and honestly, that was all I needed to share more articles with you. You might also want to check out this article on freelancing.
This is one of the most asked questions among Nigerians online, I have been in that position when I just needed a great freelancing website to work with. I have worked with all these freelancing websites and I still work with some, so you might want to take a closer look at them based on their ranking (I ranked them based on ease of use). So, without further ado, let’s get to our list.
Upwork.com
It’s the first, it’s the biggest and it’s the best. If you need a freelancing website that accepts everyone, you don’t have to look any further. Upwork was formerly Odesk. I started working on this freelancing website part-time in 2015, later that year they changed to Upwork, and ever since the 21st of September 2017, I have been working on this freelancing website fulltime.
Upwork has over 1.5 million clients, do you know what that means? Enough jobs for everyone. On average, a new job is posted every second, which means over 1440 jobs a day. Upwork offers you hourly and fixed rate projects, and that means you all have something for your skill level.
Upwork has one of the strongest anti-spam and anti-crime systems I know of. The company goes as far as conducting video interviews to verify the identity of freelancers, so you had better not even try using images of foreigners. They also request for identification, so you also might be better off using your real credentials.
For Nigerians, Upwork even offers you an option of withdrawing your funds to Nigerian banks, and with payment wahala out of it all, I think 60 percent of your problem is solved.
The problem, though is the other 40 percent. Just as the website boasts of a massive client base, it also boasts of a massive freelancer base. That means that people competing for specific jobs are really many, and that makes it really hard for starters to get jobs. In a future article, I wouldn’t mind sharing tips on how you can earn more using Upwork.
Overall, I will choose this over the others on this list. Feel free though to request for free consultation, I wouldn’t mind helping you if your profile has not been approved.
Fiverr.com
Offering you services in form of gigs, Fiverr reduces the stress of clients by making it easier to hire, freelancers. All clients need to do is buy your gig, and that’s all you ever need. You deliver the gig, they approve and you get paid.
Fiveer pays to your Payoneer card, and that’s a plus for Nigerians. One thing I really hated with Fiverr was the fact that payments take close to two weeks to clear. I remembered selling my online store, then waiting so long for the company to allow me to receive my money, and this was after all the deductions that they had to make.
If you are a newbie, Fiverr may not be the best bet if you need quick money as the website doesn’t really favor first-timers, so you might have to be patient in the long run.
Toptal.com
I have been in the writing field, so I have not been able to try this company because they do not offer jobs for my skillset. They basically cater to top-class freelancers in software developing, designing and finance, and these are all world-class talents.
So if you haven’t tried your hands well in your industry, you might find it best to stay off Toptal.com for the time being.
Toptal boasts of clients who are ONLY there to source top talents, so if you manage to scale through the rigorous screening, you might be having a really big cake seating in front of you.
Freelancer.com
Freelancer.com offers you millions of projects, just like Upwork, but for some reason, I wouldn’t encourage Nigerians to join it. In contrast to Upwork, Freelancer.com charges you to take skill tests, Freelancer.com is also not a place for a newbie to start.
I want to understand that most of you reading this article are complete newbies, but if you’re not, and if you’re confident in your skills and you’re competitive, you might want to give this freelancing website a trial.
The website has a really lackluster control of fraud on its platform as far as I know, and that’s one thing that drove me a mile away, but working on this and improving freelancer satisfaction will make this freelancing website stand out. With your Payoneer account, you will be able to receive your earnings, so nothing beats it.
Guru.com
Guru has been around for as long as I can remember. One of the things that drove me away was the really complicated registration process.
Guru makes it really easy for you to showcase your past work experience, and it offers you daily jobs that match your skills, so you never have to worry about missing jobs that match your skills and experience.
With the Guru Work Room, you’ll find managing your work a breeze, and interestingly, you will be able to receive payments with ease.
99designs.com
99designs.com is targeted at designers mainly, and it has been doing really great underground. 99designs has raised the bar by niching down. Clients looking for designing gigs know where to go, and nothing is better than that.
CGTrader 3D Projects
The next platform we’ll look at is the CGTrader 3D Projects. This is a freelance 3D modeling platform being operated by CGTrader. It comes as the world’s largest single source of licensable 3D content. The company simply connects freelance 3D designers and design studios to clients from all around the world and facilitates a process that makes working on your 3D modeling jobs pretty exciting.
You get to work with clients from different industries, from retail to animation, gaming to architecture, and 3D printing. If you deliver outstandingly, clients often find it easy to retain you and use your skills to complete other 3D jobs. The company also allows top 3D designers to join the CGTrader Designer Partners program which seeks to connect these select freelancers to the top Fortune 500 companies, giving them a steady flow of work and pay.
Feel free to share your questions and challenges using these platforms. I will be happy to get you started on your freelancing journey.
Also, share this post on social media, you might get it in front of other freelancers who are better than I am, you sure need all the help you can get at this point.