Nigeria-based online talent marketplace CodeLn has launched Remote CodeLn, an online platform that helps companies to manage their freelancers and track their tasks throughout the product development process.
Founded in 2018 by Philisiah Mwaluma, Dennis Nduta, Dexter Ouattara and Elohor Thomas after they met while taking part in the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), CodeLn automates the entire tech recruitment process end-to-end.
The startup, which bagged US$100,000 in funding from MEST upon completion of the programme in 2018, launched an automated tech recruitment platform that makes it easy for companies to hire African software engineers in 2019, and has seen an increase in requests for remote freelancers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes with peculiar challenges, however, and CodeLn identified an opportunity to make the adoption of the gig workforce seamless for companies.
Its new platform, Remote CodeLn, helps companies or individuals to post their tech project, receive bids from freelancers, pick from verified bidders, draft a product development contract, assign and manage product development tasks, and pay freelancers in tranches based on milestones completed, all without leaving the platform.
Both the company and the programmer set tasks and timelines for each milestone, which is documented in a contract. The platform stands as an intermediary between both parties, guaranteeing milestones are completed before payment is made as the funds are kept in escrow.
“We saw the need to enlighten companies on how to manage programmers working remotely as it was not the norm in Africa before COVID-19 hit. But we soon realised the additional need for a tool to help them manage this process seamlessly. That is why we built Remote CodeLn. This platform ensures a smooth process for both the company and the programmer,” said Elohor Thomas, the startup’s chief executive officer (CEO).
