I have been asked several times about the feasibility of national online freelancing platforms. There are a few in Sri Lanka. According to this report, it appears that a platform has emerged in Myanmar too.
First prize goes to Honey Mya Win. She founded her startup with her programmer sister less than a year ago after quitting her job with a Chinese telecom firm.
“Myanmar is open up and these investors are coming in, so that will be wise to start it right now,” she says.
Her startup, “Chate Sat,” — meaning “connect” in Burmese — is a platform linking freelancers with work opportunities.
The 4,000 or so registered freelancers have skills from writing content to developing websites. They can apply for projects directly, without having to pay large sums to a middleman.
“Our dream is to let people know that Chate Sat is here to help people out,” she says.
My answer has always been based on the factor that determines the attractiveness of the platform to online freelancers: the quantity and quality of clients. In Sri Lanka, the online freelancers want to sell their services to foreign clients. So the existing international platforms are what makes sense for them. If certain niche markets can be defined and can attract enough clients, of course, the platform can succeed. It is most likely that language or something unique to that country would be needed for a national platform to succeed.
Is the Burmese language the defining feature of Chate Sat?
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