When these two Black women struggled to connect with Black freelancers for side hustles, they started a platform to address this problem.
Black entrepreneurs are breaking barriers to own thriving businesses
MJ Cunningham and Lillian Jackson are the co-founders of Afrofreelancer, a marketplace service where black freelancers can connect with projects.
Launched in September 2020, AfroFreelancer lets freelancers create a profile to showcase their expertise and connect with career opportunities. Businesses can also post projects or support their freelancer needs by choosing from available talent. AfroFreelancer supports freelancers in nine main categories, including programming, writing, digital marketing, and financial services. Users can search AfroFreelancer’s database by location, freelancer profile, category, or project.
“We wanted to [build] a community of Black freelancers where, if someone was starting a business, they could find everything they needed in one place,” Cunningham told Lifewire. “Someone to do their graphic design, launch their website, do their accounting, manage your social media, provide human resources support, you name it. That didn’t exist. So we created it.”
