About Upkazi

Upkazi is Africa’s first freelance platform built to empower freelancers and serve businesses with reliable, professional services. It connects people who have skills with people who need work done through a web and mobile marketplace designed for African realities and open to the world. Freelancers publish clear service listings. Clients find and hire them in a safe, structured way. Every transaction is protected by escrow so funds are released only when work is delivered and approved. Upkazi is not a job board and not a CV drop site. It is a complete marketplace where hiring and delivery happen directly and transparently.

Background and Origin

The idea for Upkazi emerged from a simple observation. African youth are skilled and motivated, yet too often they send CVs and wait without response, get lost on crowded global sites, or lose money to scams. Beginning in 2023 the platform was built step by step with a single goal in mind. Create a safe, visible, Africa first market for services with payments that actually work on the continent. After groundwork in 2023 and 2024 the public launch came in 2025, opening a new chapter for freelancers and clients across East Africa and beyond.

Founder Story

In 2023, a young Ugandan tech entrepreneur and digital innovator Charlie Brian began building Upkazi after witnessing the realities many African freelancers face; unanswered CVs, low visibility on crowded global platforms, and the risk of scams when work and payments are informal. He set out to create something better; an Africa first marketplace that is open to the world, simple to use, and safe at every step.

Across 2023 and 2024 the groundwork took shape; product design and coding, iterative testing with real users, building the payment rails, and preparing mobile experiences. The aim was not only a functional product but a resilient system that respects how people in our region actually connect, collaborate, and get paid. It was challenging work, but the vision remained clear; Africa needs its own freelance infrastructure.

In 2025 Upkazi launched publicly, opening a new chapter for freelancers and clients across East Africa and beyond. What began as a personal response to systemic barriers became a pathway for thousands to publish their skills, be discovered, and get paid with confidence.

Upkazi was born from lived experience. Founded by Charlie Brian, it answers the gaps African talent has faced for years; limited payment access, low trust in informal channels, and tools that were not designed for our context. It turns skills into structured services, keeps work and communication on platform, and protects every transaction with escrow so funds are released only when work is approved. The result is a marketplace that treats both sides with dignity.

This is more than a startup. It is a movement to give African creatives, developers, writers, marketers, voice artists, translators, analysts, and founders a fair stage to compete globally. Built by Africans, for Africa, with the world in mind. As Charlie often says, we do not have to wait for opportunity to come from outside; we can build it, prove it, and scale it here.

What We Do

We match African freelancers with local and global clients.
We provide a safe, transparent, trusted platform where work and payments are protected.
We equip freelancers with tools, training, and exposure so skills turn into income.

The Problem

Africa has millions of skilled individuals, but many struggle to find opportunities that are safe, consistent, and well paying. Global platforms can overlook African talent or fail to account for realities such as limited payment options, uneven connectivity, or trust gaps between clients and freelancers. In parallel, many sites that call themselves freelance platforms are only job boards or informal groups without escrow, verified identities, or delivery workflows, which increases risk for both sides. Traditional labor markets cannot absorb the number of young people entering work each year. A durable digital alternative is needed.

Our Solution

Upkazi is built from the ground up for Africa. It delivers mobile first access, local and international payment options, verified profiles with portfolio and credentials, and a guided onboarding process. It centers safety and visibility for freelancers while giving buyers a secure, reliable way to hire skilled talent. It replaces chance with structure, and uncertainty with clear scope, timelines, and escrow protection.

What Upkazi Is

Upkazi is a complete freelance marketplace, built in Africa and made for Africa. Freelancers publish services with clear scope and pricing. Clients hire in three ways. They can browse and place an order directly. They can request a custom offer tailored to their needs. They can post a job request to receive proposals and select the best fit. Communication, delivery, and approval stay on the platform. Funds are held securely and released when the work is approved. The result is a fair experience for both sides.

How It Works for Freelancers

A freelancer signs up and completes a profile with skills, portfolio, training, and certifications. They publish services across design, writing, business, music and voice, translation, development, data, and more. Clients contact them on the platform, agree on terms, and fund the order. The freelancer delivers inside Upkazi, receives approval, and gets paid to a wallet that supports local and international withdrawals. This creates a direct path from talent to income.

How It Works for Clients

A client creates an account and can immediately browse services and order from a freelancer with a strong profile and portfolio. If the need is unique they can request a custom offer with a tailored scope and price. For wider searches they can post a job request, compare proposals, and choose the right specialist. All communication and delivery remain on the platform. Escrow protects the budget until approval. This reduces risk, shortens hiring time, and makes outcomes predictable.

Trust, Safety, and Compliance

Trust is built into the core process. Accounts are verified. Work and messaging happen on the platform. Payments are secured in escrow and released after approval. Reviews and reputation grow from completed projects. The payment stack is structured for compliance with both local rails and global networks so people can transact safely, receive funds, and build long term professional relationships. This is the essential difference between a true marketplace and informal job listings.

Where We Are and Legal Compliance

Upkazi is founded and managed from Uganda, which serves as the core hub for regional engagement, talent development, and seamless payment integration through MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, and Pesapal. This foundation makes it easy for freelancers and clients to transact safely and instantly across East Africa.

To support global access and financial compliance, Upkazi is also registered in Delaware, United States. This enables integration with global payment networks such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Payoneer, and Stripe, giving African freelancers the same secure tools used by major international platforms.

This dual structure is not about borders. It is about trust, scale, and professionalism. By aligning with both African and international systems, Upkazi ensures that every transaction is compliant, transparent, and ready for global collaboration.

We are not just building a platform. We are building Africa’s freelance infrastructure, locally grounded and globally connected.

Why Upkazi Is Different

Upkazi is designed for the bandwidth, devices, and payment realities of the continent. It supports mobile first usage, aligns with local and international currencies, and offers hiring flows that match how clients actually make decisions. It brings verified identity, escrow, and structured delivery to a space where trust has often been fragile. It is Africa first in design and global in reach, giving local talent a visible, protected stage.

Market Opportunity

Africa is the youngest and fastest growing region, with most of the population under the age of twenty five. Connectivity and digital skills are rising, and more young people are choosing freelance work. This presents a large opportunity to build a workforce that serves both local and international clients. Upkazi is positioned to lead this transformation by connecting that talent with real demand.

Who Benefits and How to Engage

Media
Radio and television producers gain a timely, human story with clear public value. Youth presenters can explore how talent earns online in safe, compliant ways. News and business desks can profile a homegrown technology that turns skills into income and follow success stories as they emerge across Kampala, Juba, Nairobi, Kigali, and beyond. Strong formats include explainers on safe online work, profiles of young freelancers, and conversations with employers adopting flexible hiring.

Government and development partners
Upkazi aligns with priorities in youth employment, livelihoods, and digital transformation. It complements skills training, innovation hubs, and entrepreneurship programs by adding an immediate route to market for trained youth. Partners can co-run challenges, sponsor onboarding cohorts, integrate training on safe digital work, and track measurable outputs such as verified earnings, completed projects, and repeat clients.

Businesses and institutions
Firms, startups, agencies, NGOs, schools, and municipalities gain fast access to a continental pool of vetted specialists. Start small with a logo, a voice over, a translation, or a data task, then scale to larger work with weekly or monthly contracts. Escrow and on platform delivery reduce procurement friction and bring transparency to outcomes.

Creators and culture
Musicians, voice artists, presenters, editors, and photographers can package what they already do into services that travel across borders. A voice artist in Kampala can offer a radio jingle in a local accent. A designer in Nairobi can brand a community project. A graduate in Lagos can edit a research report. Upkazi turns creative capacity into structured, bookable services.

About Our Technology

Upkazi is a custom-built freelance marketplace engineered for flexibility, speed, and scale. The web admin uses WordPress as a secure content management backbone, while everything visible to users is fully customized.

Why this approach works
It allows unique front end features tailored to the African freelance economy.
It supports custom workflows for freelancers and clients.
It leverages proven security tools without reinventing the wheel.
It enables rapid iteration as user needs evolve.

Web stack highlights
Frontend is a custom designed theme that matches Upkazi’s brand and mission.
The user system uses customized dashboards with roles and structured data.
Security and performance are reinforced with caching, a web application firewall, and hidden signatures.
Hosting uses high speed servers with daily backups and content delivery support.
Admin control through WordPress CMS enables efficient management of users, payments, and content without reliance on third party software as a service.

Upkazi app; built for mobile first
The mobile app is a fully independent system created with modern cross platform technology. It is not reliant on WordPress and is engineered for a smooth, fast, native experience across Africa. It connects to the backend through custom interfaces and delivers real time access to services, messages, payments, and profiles.

App stack highlights
The framework uses React Native for performance on Android and iOS.
Backend communication uses custom interfaces for secure data handling.
Real time features include in app chat, order updates, notifications, and service tracking.
It is optimized for Africa with lightweight pages that load on slower networks.
Data stays in sync with the web system while the app operates independently.

Why It Matters

By combining a customized web platform with a standalone mobile app, Upkazi delivers a consistent experience across devices. The system is flexible, secure, and scalable, and it is truly built for Africa’s digital workforce. Upkazi is not a template. It is a technology driven platform with a purpose.

Job Boards Versus a Real Freelance Marketplace

Job boards are notice boards. Candidates upload CVs and wait. There is no escrow, no on platform delivery, and no payment release logic. A real freelance marketplace is a transaction engine. The client and freelancer agree on scope and price. Funds are secured. Delivery is tracked. Work is approved and only then are funds released. Disputes follow clear rules. Reputation grows from verified completions. Upkazi follows the true marketplace model, which protects both sides and makes digital work sustainable.

Pan African Relevance

The platform is built to feel local in every city and usable from any country. It focuses on mobile access, clear profiles with portfolios and credentials, and payments that recognize both mobile money and international cards. It welcomes everyone from Kampala to Nairobi, Juba to Lagos, Kigali to Cape Town, Dar es Salaam to Accra. In each place the message is the same. Skills matter. Safe delivery matters. Professional standards matter. Upkazi gives a common place to work together.

Our Roadmap

Upkazi is growing in Uganda and Kenya with more countries to follow. The roadmap includes expansion to ten or more African countries, the introduction of talent matching powered by artificial intelligence, digital skills training, and partnerships with businesses, startups, and non governmental organizations across the continent. The goal is to become Africa’s most trusted freelance platform, create work for millions, and power businesses with top tier African talent.

Simple Ways to Start Today

A journalist can host a ten minute segment with a live signup and a first order placed on air. A youth program can run a weekend clinic to help twenty students publish their first services with proper scope and pricing. A small business can commission a starter kit logo, a product photo set, and a short explainer voice over to test the process. Each creates proof that local talent and local systems work.

Vision

To put African freelancers on every project in every business.

Mission

To connect African freelancers with real opportunities worldwide through a safe, visible, and dignified marketplace.

Tagline

Africa works here.

Core Values

Trust. We build confidence through transparency, accountability, and fairness for both clients and freelancers.
Empowerment. We give freelancers the tools, training, and support they need to take control of their careers.
Professionalism. We deliver high standards through quality work, reliable service, and responsive support.
Inclusion. We welcome diverse talent from across Africa and ensure everyone has a seat at the table.
Access. We open doors for African talent to earn meaningful income that supports growth and stability.

Join the Movement

If you are a business, find and hire skilled African freelancers today.
If you are a freelancer, sign up and get discovered.
If you are a partner or investor, let us build Africa’s freelance future together.

Upkazi dot com. Africa’s first freelance platform connecting skilled professionals with global digital opportunities. Built on trust, excellence, and inclusion, we empower freelancers and serve businesses with reliable, professional services.

Join our ever growing freelance community and be part of rewriting Africa’s digital story.