The digitalization of many professions around the world has contributed to creating a new, competitive and innovative labor market. Self-employed people who mostly work remotely have been sharply rising in numbers in the past years. These people are called freelancers.  

Wherever they are based, freelancers are increasingly using digital innovation to work on their own terms, with the flexibility that their lives demand. That’s not just good for them, it’s good for businesses, too. It makes it possible for businesses to tap into workers with very specialized skills when they need them. It also allows those freelancers to control the parameters of how they work.  

Freelancing offers work opportunities that anyone with an internet connection can do, with the option of choosing from a variety of job descriptions on many given platforms. The popularity of freelancing is attributed to many factors, including flexibility, competitive pricing, and the plethora of opportunities available. This growing field of work, combined with economic underdevelopment compared to more developed economies, has contributed to the formation of large freelance communities in the Western Balkans.  

But how can we make freelancing drive inclusive economic development?  

For this episode, we have interviewed:  

- Elena Dimova, who’s a Certified Digital Marketing Specialist, who’s been freelancing for four years now. She is constantly hustling to cover all bases and so far, she’s held countless roles in the digital marketing space including as Outreach Manager, Community Manager, Search Engine Optimization Analyst, and Content Writer.

- Andi Stefanllari, who’s a senior development practitioner with extensive experience in private sector development, working for a Helvetas-implemented project called RisiAlbania, a youth employment project in Albania of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, as Intervention Manager for the ICT sector. His areas of expertise are designing and implementing market systems development interventions for private sector growth and job creation.  

- Elena Ivanova, who’s the Director of Impact Foundation, RECONOMY’s implementing partner in North Macedonia. Elena manages the pilot intervention in self-employment through freelancing in North Macedonia. She is also responsible for designing market systems development interventions for employability mostly in the area of digitalization.  

We have interesting topics coming up, so stay tuned!