According to recent statistics, 31% of freelancers earn $75,000+ a year, and working from home improves performance by 13%. These numbers are some of the indicators to why a lot of people prefer working remotely or as freelancers nowadays. In this article we will explain the difference between working remotely and as a freelancer, and we will highlight 5 remote working and freelance websites in the Middle East and North African region.
The difference between working remotely and freelance
Some people think that remote and freelance jobs are the same; in fact, they are not. Being a remote full-time or part-time worker means you are working for a company or an organization, but not physically present at the office. You can do your job from home, co-working space, café, or wherever you feel comfortable. Remote companies often have core working hours; a specific set of hours when all employees from different time zones should be available.
Having a freelance job is slightly different. Your presence is not required at the office in most cases and you enjoy more flexibility in terms of working hours. A freelancer is a self-employed professional who enjoys the freedom of choosing his clients and type of projects to work on.
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Check out the below five platforms for freelance and remote jobs in the MENA region (Platforms are sorted alphabetically).
1. Al7arefa
Al7arefa is an Egyptian slang word that means talented tradesmen who pour themselves into their work and excel with finesse. The platform is an on-demand freelance services marketplace connecting clients with professional freelancers and remote workers in digital marketing, media production, writing and translation, programming, and many other fields. Visit the website and you will notice that well-known names in the Middle East have used their platform like Mazzika, Raya, and Carriage Egypt.
What makes this platform unique is the community support they provide to their members through their Facebook group Freelancers Hub and Facebook page . The group has grown to more than 25K members since its creation in 2017. Members can post their questions and get answers from other members or admins. Experienced freelancers are encouraged to share their tips and success stories as well.
The community support provided to freelancers does not stop there. Al7arefa Facebook page streams one-hour live videos discussing topics of interest to freelancers in different career fields. Are you a graphic designer considering a career shift to UX? Do you want to know what a media buyer’s job is all about? Visit their page and enjoy the live videos.
2. Mosawer.net
As the proverb says: “Necessity is the mother of invention”. The inspiration behind Mosawer.net came to one of the co-founders when he was looking for a food photographer for a project with his former employer. He discovered that finding a professional one was a challenging task. Therefore, he decided to build a platform connecting photographers and videographers with individuals and companies seeking their services.
The profiles of top photographers are displayed on the website’s home page where potential clients can view their portfolios, contact info, and rates. The platform offers clients the option of handling production aspects for video and photo shoots (art direction, styling, booking locations, etc.) on their behalf in return for extra fees. There are plans to extend the services provided to include directors of photography, stylists, makeup artists and models to offer comprehensive photography solutions.
3. Nabbesh
If you’ve been freelancing for quite some time, you’ve probably used a couple of freelance websites and noticed the low rates employers offer due to the increasing competition. Bidding against hundreds of other freelancers keeps driving rates down and freelancers find themselves working for peanuts.
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The good thing about Nabbesh is the way it works. According to the “How It Works” section on their website, a client posts a job, and then the team matches them with an average of five freelancers from which they can choose. This increases a freelancer’s chance of winning a bid without having to fight in a price war where the lowest price wins.
Clients have the option of working with either on-site local talents, or remote ones. Project management solutions are also available for large projects. Big names like General Electric and IBM Studios have done business through the platform.
4. Tasmeemme
When it comes to creative work, whether photography, website and logo design, or animation, you can have a hard time finding someone professional to do the job. And here where the importance of freelance websites like Tasmeemme appears! Having a marketplace that brings together Arab creative talents for service seekers to choose from is a big advantage.
Tasmeemme came to life in 2009 as a platform for creative designers to help them find freelance, remote, full-time and part-time jobs. As a client, you have two options: you can either contact a designer directly through the platform or outsource the entire project to Tasmeemme and they’ll take it from there.
In 2014, the freelance website started offering online courses to help their designers take their skills to the next level. Also, designers can sell ready-to-use templates (logos, business cards, fonts, infographics, etc.) through the digital marketplace. The platform has more than 200,000 registered designers and the jobs posted have exceeded 5,000.
Tasmeemme won several awards: gold award for best online service at Jordan App and Web Awards, best online startup at ArabNet, and best online startup at Celebration of Entrepreneurship.
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If you are on a tight budget and don't have any design experience, you can always use the GoDaddy logo maker. You can choose from hundreds of templates that are tailored to your industry or create your own logo from scratch. What makes it an amazing option is that it does not require any design skills, customize your logo with easy-to-use tools, as well as 100s of unique graphics and fonts.
5.Ureed
Whether you are a business owner looking for freelance writers or editors, or a linguist looking for a freelance opportunity, Ureed is your go-to platform for freelance websites. It is an online marketplace focused on providing editorial and linguistic services and connects businesses and individuals with freelance writers, copywriters, and translators.
You can watch their YouTube videos if you need help in building your profile as a freelancer or posting a project as an employer. As a hub for content creators and language professionals, Ureed blog posts are worth reading. The blog is updated frequently with new articles covering business, translation, and other content-related topics.
If you think that’s the whole story, you’re definitely missing something out. Fast Content is a content marketplace recently launched by Ureed. It connects clients with verified and vetted writers who have vast experience in providing content-related services like blog posts, news articles, e-books, and whitepapers within an exceptionally fast turnaround time.
Do you think you’re ready to start as a freelancer on freelance websites or to work remotely? You can check more related articles in our blog, and you can also start your own online portfolio to showcase your latest projects using GoDaddy’s Websites + Marketing tool.