Embracing freelancing will undoubtedly benefit nearly half of young South Africans who are currently unemployed, but there are other broader benefits too.
Travel through any South African town or city, and the stark contrast in unemployment levels becomes evident. Cross a freeway from an affluent neighbourhood with large houses and ample amenities, and you’ll quickly find yourself among people grappling with severe poverty.
As an illustration of how big a factor inequality is in South Africa, figures from StatsSA show that earning just R25,304 a month (the average monthly salary for formal sector workers) would put you in the top 12% of earners. Meanwhile, you’d need to earn around R151,541 or six times as much, to be in the top one percent of earners.
With youth unemployment levels close to 46%, young people are particularly impacted by these high levels of inequality. Addressing them should be a priority for the country. While job creation is undoubtedly important, empowering young people to become skilled freelancers could also make a significant difference. Here, technology has a powerful role to play.
The power of freelancing
Before considering how technology can play that role, it is worth understanding how freelancing can be empowering, particularly for young South Africans.
With the normalisation of remote and hybrid work, businesses are more inclined today to employ freelancers from various regions and even parts of the world. While some companies keep a pool of freelancers on retainer, others prefer using them for once-off projects.
It’s no surprise, then, that a 2023 report revealed that the global freelance market is valued at over US$1.5 trillion, with an annual growth rate of approximately 15%. The same report also found that freelancers act as an engine for global economic growth and that the global pool of freelancers is becoming more demographically diverse, fostering enhanced innovation and creativity.
Given the advantageous time zone and favourable exchange rates with major currencies, South Africans are well-positioned to take advantage of this freelancing boom. Increasingly high-speed and affordable connectivity only makes the country more desirable as a destination for freelancing resources. Of course, connectivity isn’t the only way technology is making freelancing more viable for young South Africans.
Technology skills and tools
Take skills development, for instance. Many of the skills needed to thrive in today’s freelance economy—be they design, coding, or even prompt engineering—can be learned online. Critically, they can be picked up at a fraction of the cost and in a much shorter amount of time than with a traditional tertiary qualification.
The same is true for the secondary skills people need to be effective freelancers. Whether it’s business basics such as pricing, invoicing and taxes, marketing, or negotiation, all are important skills that can be picked up or enhanced online.
This is equally valid for the tools that freelancers require to do their jobs effectively. A few years ago, software that many freelancers needed required expensive purchases or subscriptions. Today, a plethora of free and affordable versions of these tools are available to freelancers around the globe.
At Zoho, for instance, we offer free versions of many of our productivity suite products, making them ideal for freelancers. For those requiring more advanced features, we provide localised pricing. This approach helps mitigate currency fluctuations and adds certainty to a freelancer’s monthly budget.
A mindset shift
There is no doubt, then, that there is plenty of opportunity for young South Africans to embrace freelancing. It’s also true that the tools and resources needed for them to succeed as freelancers have never been more easily accessible and affordable than now.
For those young people to take advantage of those opportunities, however, a mindset shift is required. Full-time freelancing may sound strange now, but as the global freelancing economy keeps growing and young people worldwide prioritise flexibility, being a career freelancer will become increasingly normal.
Broader benefits
Embracing freelancing will undoubtedly benefit nearly half of young South Africans who are currently unemployed, but there are other broader benefits too. More young people freelancing, coupled with improved rural connectivity, could, for example, help revitalise small towns and villages. We have already seen an example of how this could work during the pandemic, with the rise of so-called “Zoom towns”. More people in those areas, earning money from outside of them, can help boost local economies and the broader national economy.