Ripple Labs collaborates with Paydek to aid freelancers in Africa and Latin America

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Key Takeaways:

• Ripple Labs collaborated with UK-based Paydek to expand to Africa and Latin America
• The aim of the partnership is to carry out low-cost transfers to the noted regions, to support the freelancers.
• Freelance industry is expanding, incorporating higher percentage of the employed population.

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – Ripple Labs, a payment protocol blockchain company, started a new partnership with UK-based payments firm Paydek.

The primary goal of the collaboration is to help transition assets seamlessly across borders. It could aid the expanding freelance markets in developing countries. Initially, the African Continent was the focal point of the project, but the latter then expanded to include Latin America.

Ripple and Paydek to support freelancers

The San Francisco-based blockchain company tweeted the news, noting the looming expansion of the freelance market to a $455 billion industry.

Sendi Young, the managing director at RippleNet Europe, commented on the new partnership.

“Expanding RippleNet to better serve Paydek’s customers is a testament to the power of blockchain technology to significantly transform global payments. Through Paydek, Ripple is strengthening its presence in Africa and Latin America to drive innovation in digital remittances, in regions where faster payments are crucial to people’s livelihoods.”

asserted the official.

Paydek representatives were also optimistic about the collaboration, calling it “another milestone” in cost-efficient transfers. The real-time transfers will support the local freelancers and on-demand workforce not only in Africa but also in Latin America.

Terry Hopkinson, the managing director at Paydek, offered his opinion, pointing out that fast payments are crucial for the financial stability of their clients.

“With the addition of Localpayment’s expertise and support, Paydek is better positioned to offer an enhanced service to our clientele with local bank transfers into the Latin America market, where we are seeing significant growth for our customers”.

said Mr. Hopkinson

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Freelance markets in Africa and Latin America

Following worldwide lockdowns led by the Covid-19 pandemic, the global workforce arrangement has adjusted to the new, work-from-home conditions.

As a result, the number of freelance workers has increased. In 2019, they stood at 57 million people. But, according to the Statistic, the numbers shot up to 1.1 billion in 2020.

The demographic has also changed. Financial services company Pioneer conducted a study back in 2020, which showed that over 10 percent of the world’s freelance workers were based in Africa.

At the time, the study included 21,000 freelancers from 170 countries. The worldwide dynamic toward on-demand work could see that number increase further, especially in developing countries. The number of self-employed workers in Latin America and the Caribbean was also significant.

According to a 2019 Statistic, 73.5 percent of the employed population in Haiti was working freelance. Bolivia took second place with 68.3 percent, and Peru had 55.5 percent benefiting from freelance work. However, the payment arrangements could become an issue in case of funds coming from international employers.

Ripple Labs and Paydek claim they can solve the issue by using blockchain technology. Paydek will support nine local African currencies, including XOF, XAF, SLL, KES, RWF, TZS, GHS, UGX, and ZAR. In Latin America, it will support MXN, ARS, CLP, and UYU.

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