Follower of Robin Hood business model – Mozambican startup UX launches job site in Angola

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Follower of Robin Hood business model – Mozambican startup UX launches job site in Angola

1:35 CAT | 08 Apr 2016

VOA Portugues / Frederico Silva

Mozambique social entrepreneurs UX will launch a digital job search platform in Angola in May, executive director and founder Frederico Silva has told VOA.

Silva said that their Angolan venture represents a quantum leap for UX, which four years ago launched a similar service in Mozambique to international acclaim.

The fact that Angola is facing an economic crisis, says Silva does not affect the entrance of UX because the project has a social nature, which “will contribute to employability there”.

UX is partnering with Angolan entrepreneurs Rui and José Tati in the venture.

UX is also preparing an “Odd Jobs” (“Biscates”) platform for the Mozambican market – a database of informal workers that will use technology within the reach of many.

Through the site, bu’lders, plumbers, carpenters and other professionals can share their contacts and skills with potential clients.

In a country where less than 10 percent of a population of 25 million has access to the internet, Silva says his company has been forced to innovate to survive.

“We follow a Robin Hood business model based on a redistributive logic,” he says.

UX charges those who have purchasing power more and the needy less. A tradesman, for example, will pay less than one US dollar per year to his details on the platform.

Other forms of income include advertising and services.

As for the state’s investment in information technology to boost development in Mozambique, Silva says that “we need to become relevant first, to be embraced”.

“We know that the government has its limitations (…) and we have a proactive posture. We try, with the resources we have, to find solutions that serve society,” says Silva.

“Obviously this effort,” suggests Silva, “would make more sense if it could be completely aligned with government activities.”

Source: VOA Portugues