Are you seeking to make money from doing online freelance jobs in Nigeria? In this post, I will be showing you 9 best freelance websites to get online jobs.
Why Should You Consider Freelancing?
Freelancing is a great way to make a side income from your skills and expertise. Both individuals and businesses can freelance as long as you have the skills and expertise.
For instance, if you are a logo designer, you can still search for online freelance jobs while working for a company. On the other hand, if you are a business, you can still get freelance jobs while you and your team will work on any gigs you get.
PS: A gig in this term is commonly used to refer to the service you offer on a freelance website.
How To Start Freelancing In Nigeria
You need 3 major things to start freelancing in Nigeria.
- A skill
- A freelance platform and
- A means of receiving your payments
a) Skill:
This refers to what you can do based on your abilities or expertise. Skilled freelancers stand the best chance to land more freelance jobs. Skills are usually developed from training and practice. Some major freelancing skills include but are not limited to graphics design, writing, video editing, web design etc.
b) Freelance Platform:
A freelance platform is a website where you can post your services and get people who are interested in the kind of service you offer to pay you to do the job. In this post, I will be showing you some of these freelance platforms.
Also Read: 15 Awesome Online Business That Pays Daily
c) Payment:
As a freelancer in Nigeria, this should be a major concern since many major payment gateways like PayPal still don’t allow us to receive money by transfer. Thankfully, majority of these platforms have adopted to pay through ACH transfers.
An ACH Payment (Automated Clearing House) is a method of electronic bank to bank payment in the US. It is made through the ACH network and not through any card networks, such as Visa or Mastercard.
The question now is…
If the ACH network is used to make bank-to-bank payments in the US, how can you benefit from it as a Nigerian?
Thankfully, with Payoneer, you can now get a legitimate US bank account as well as their US Mastercard. When you sign up with the Payoneer network, you will be giving a US community bank account, routing number, alongside any other bank details.
Major websites like Amazon, eBay, and thousands of others pay their members with ACH (Payoneer), and you as a Nigerian can also receive your money without fear of your account being frozen or your money hanging.
Read Also: How to open a Payoneer account from Nigeria.
7 Places to get Freelance Jobs In Nigeria
#1. Fiverr
Fiverr is my favourite global freelance platform to get freelance jobs in Nigeria. It is an online platform that connects freelancers to business owners seeking services in a variety of digital projects including logo design, content writing, digital marketing, web design, etc.
Their 3.42million active clients make it easy to find freelance opportunities for veteran and new freelancers.
The website calls freelancers “sellers”. Their services are “gigs”. While business owners are “buyers”.
Instead of sending out bids, sellers (freelancers) can sign-up for free and list their gigs. Buyers have the option to browse through different categories in order to find what they are looking for.
When a buyer buys a gig, the system charges their account and then puts the money on reserve. When the job is marked as complete, Fiverr releases 80% of the money to you and takes 20% as commission.
It may take up to 14 days for freelancers to withdraw their earnings. As a Nigerian, you can withdraw your money to your Payoneer account.
Sign up on Fiverr. It’s free.
#2 – Upwork
Upwork is a website for freelancing that connects freelancers and clients from all over the world.
The platform covers a wide range of services from graphic design to software development, etc.
There are many ways for freelancers and clients to connect. Clients have the option to post a job, hire talent, or purchase predefined services from the service catalog. You can also access the job board to offer your service.
To get Upwork jobs, create a profile and make sure your profile includes information about yourself, your expertise, as well as your work history. Remember that clients will review your profile when you submit a job or pitch for a project.
Upwork offers a sliding-scale commission structure. The more you work the lower your fees. As an example, the commission fee begins at 20% for the first bill of 500 and decreases gradually as you get more money.
You can withdraw your money to your Payoneer account.
Read Also: 75 Hot business ideas in Nigeria to Make Money
#3. Freelancer
Another large marketplace for freelancing is Freelancer, which can offer you a variety of opportunities.
You can search their job boards and submit work to freelancers. Once hired, freelancers can chat with clients live and keep track of their progress.
Freelancer.com offers the chance to win extra money and reviews that will help you stand out.
The platform charges a 10% fee for winning contests and projects.
#4. Guru
Guru is another popular marketplace for freelancing that has over 800,000 clients around the globe and boasts 99% customer satisfaction.
Guru is open to all types of freelancers: programmers, designers, and writers are just a few examples.
Guru has a unique feature: It allows you to collaborate and add other members to your freelancing company with a progress tracker.
With a free membership, you can send out ten bidding requests per month. There is a 9% service cost added to your payout. However, clients cannot contact free members to discuss jobs.
The paid membership costs $11.95 per month. From there, the service fees will drop to an affordable level.
Paid members have the ability to jump ahead of their competition by having their ranking boost and their quotes stand out for clients. You can withdraw your money to your Payoneer account.
#5. 99designs
99designs is an online freelance site for graphic designers that connects freelancers from over 90 design areas with clients all around the globe.
You have two options to get work at 99designs. Either freelancers work directly with clients and receive payment upfront or you can join contests with other designers to win money and new clients.
99designs has one advantage: they foster long-term relationships between designers and freelancers.
You can continue to work with your client on the platform, regardless of whether you participated in a contest or worked on a project.
Remember to keep in mind the fees. There’s a $100 intro fee, which is spread over the first $500 charges. Additionally, there are sliding platform fees that are based on your “designer” level, which start at 15%.
You can withdraw your earnings to your Payoneer account.
#6. People Per Hour
PeoplePerHour, an online freelancing platform based in the UK, connects over 1 million clients with freelancers for hourly and project-based work across the globe.
You will need to apply to be a freelancer and get approved by the moderators before you can join.
Once approved, you will be able to create your profile, search for projects that are available, and create customized packages that best reflect your services.
You can attract clients by creating a winning profile on freelancer platforms like Upwork.
They also charge commission fees of about 20%. You can withdraw your money from their platform to your Payoneer account.
#7. FreeUp
FreeUp is a small marketplace for freelancers that matches clients with over 85 types of freelancers.
You will need to complete a three-step approval process in order to access their marketplace. This includes an application, interview, and a test of their Terms of Use.
The rest is easy. It’s easy to get in touch with clients and apply for work.
FreeUp is able to compete with larger marketplaces. FreeUp is able to offer fast, hands-on customer support that larger platforms often lack.
They also restrict clients to spend between 10 and 15 minutes with you before they make a hiring decision. This is done to speed up the process and allow freelancers to get work quickly.
#8. Jiji.ng
Jiji.ng is not necessarily a freelance website. It is an e-commerce website that connects buyers and sellers in Nigeria. You can sell your used or new items on Jiji. However, they have a Jobs and Services category and I have seen a lot of people advertise their skill in this section.
According to Similarweb analytics, Jiji.ng receives an average of 6 million visitors every month and almost 80% of these visitors are from Nigeria. This means that as a Nigerian freelancer if you are not yet advertising your skill on Jiji, you’re missing out on over big time.
#9. Jobberman
Jobberman is a popular Nigerian jobs marketplace and not necessarily a freelance website. However, there is an option in Jobberman that can allow you get freelance jobs in Nigeia called “Remote jobs”. These are jobs that the employer will allow you to do from your home or anywhere. It doesn’t require you to report to the office. As such, a freelancer can easily fit into these kind of jobs. All you need to do is to visit Jobberman from time to time, search and filter to “Remote jobs” and you will see all available remote jobs that you can apply for at the time.
Are there any Nigerian Freelance Websites?
There were a few Nigerian-based freelance websites that sprung up some years back and they looked promising. However, most of them have either folded up or are inactive. Some of them are Asuqu, JustFrom5k, Alance, Gigs Nigeria, and the likes.
However, there are some Nigerian websites that you can get freelance jobs in Nigeria that are not really freelance websites and they are Jiji.ng and Jobberman.
Conclusion
Fiverr is my favorite platform for finding freelance jobs in Nigeria, followed by Upwork and Freelancer. As long as you have your Payoneer account ready, you have all it takes to make money from these platforms.
However, in Nigeria, Jiji is also my favourite go-to place. So take your time and explore these platforms.
If you know any other freelance site that a Nigerian can get Freelance jobs in Nigeria, please let us know in the comment section. Don’t forget to share!
