An innovative new ‘Proudly Cape Town’ platform has been created to address the unemployment market in South Africa. The website called Bountly was launched last week and aims to provide a simpler solution to assist students, unemployed individuals and even travellers find work or part-time work. It also allows you to find a secondary income.
Users are enabled to post tasks for “online” or “in person” gigs in and around Cape Town. Alternatively, make an offer on existing tasks if they feel they are qualified for the position.
At the moment the site focuses mainly on job opportunities in the Western Cape, but the company is expected to expand to Durban and Johannesburg later in the year. Bountly was created by three entrepreneurs Michael Whelehan, Carly Jack, and Simon Telian.
“Bountly targets the grey area, the undefined and task-related work roles, of which there is an abundance in South Africa,” Co-Founder Carly Jack said.
A user creates a profile and adds their skills set to their profile. Once you create a virtual CV, you can search the site for your preferred job and set up notifications so you don’t miss any new jobs advertised. Potential employers then search the site for workers. There is also a rating system which tracks the quality of your work.
The user is then rated for their work and keeps transactions with other users. It also enables you to view other users credibility and performance, similar to rating an Uber.
It is a very personal experience, giving you a virtual bank of recommendations, and the ability to build strong credibility for yourself. It’s also a brilliant way to get just about anything done from hanging up your Christmas lights, to having Spanish lessons in your back yard.
“We want Bountly to become second nature to our users, hop on, post your task/apply for one, make money, repeat!” Whelehan said.
He added that the aim of Bountly is to provide equal opportunities for people and a marketplace to create an authority in their chosen profession.
You can also sign up by using your Facebook account or your Google account. The team are confident of the sure and steady growth of their startup and aims to diminish unemployment in the country.