The science of exporting talent:

Interviewd by Jonas Ileka

Billet, a talent development platform founded by a team of women in Namibia, is disrupting the traditional approach to talent development in Sub-Saharan Africa by providing equal employment opportunities for talent through remote internships and freelancing opportunities. The co-founders were inspired by the challenges that they experienced first-hand pertaining to the traditional approach in securing employment and finding safe working environments that can further their skillset. On a mission to transform the way we work, theirs is a story of ingenuity, resilience, and the power of vision.

Billet Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Dr Asteria Pirola chats to PulseHR about her journey thus far.

1. Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to start Billet?

I have a background in Human Resources Management, Management Consulting, and Affective Neuroscience. My journey is rooted in building efficient systems and processes, which I capitalised on in my current role as the CEO of Billet, where I am responsible for the strategic direction of the company.

Billet is a manifestation of doing work better. The smarter way. I joined forces with the co-founders of Billet, Emmerita and Magnaem, who have directly experienced challenges pertaining to the traditional based approach in securing internships, employment prospects in Namibia and finding psychologically safe working environments that can further propel their skillset, to foster a better way of working.

Those three aspects were the catalyst for the services we offer today, which enable equal employment opportunities for talent based in Sub-saharan Africa.

2. How does Billet work, and what sets it apart from other talent development platforms in Africa?

Billet takes a unique approach to developing talent through remote internships and freelancing opportunities. We recently launched the Billet Intern Cohort in Namibia, which is a program that connects Sub-Saharan African tech professionals (software developers, data analysts, cybersecurity analysts, etc.) with hiring clients outside of Africa.

Talent is vetted through industry-level skills tests developed in-house and career readiness assessments. We found those processes essential to de-risk hiring international tech talent.

3. What challenges have you faced in launching and growing Billet, and how have you overcome them? Building trust for our brand and creating awareness of our services within Namibia was an early challenge we faced. Although we had a presence online, our physical presence was lacking, which we considered essential to gaining trust from the public. Therefore, Emmerita and Magnaem executed various go-tomarket strategies, one of which entailed attending networking events in Namibia and South Africa to build the demand side of Billet.

Another challenge we faced and continue experiencing today is finding support and opportunities for collaboration. The startup ecosystem within Namibia is in its infancy and we often find it unconducive for startups fully owned and run by women. To overcome this, we adopted an attitude where we don’t ask for a seat at the table or wait for doors of opportunity to open. We unapologetically run Billet because what matters at the end of the day is the impact it will have for Namibians and Sub-Saharan Africans.

Additionally, as with most remote-first companies, the biggest challenge was creating structure in terms of how the whole team would show up and communicate efficiently and the lack of adequate technological infrastructures in Southern Africa. To solve these issues, we created systems using platforms like Notion, Asana, and Slack to improve communication, project management, and task management.

4. What are some of the biggest challenges facing tech talent development in Sub-Saharan Africa, and how is Billet addressing them?

The public sector leaves a huge gap in education. As a result, tech talent face an issue where the skills they acquire at a secondary or tertiary level don’t match what’s needed in the market.

Billet takes a grassroots level approach to developing talent. We work with aspiring tech professionals to build their skills through remote working opportunities. That way, they gain real-life working experience and are well-equipped to enter the workforce.

5. How do you envision Billet evolving over the next 5-10 years, and what impact do you hope to make in the African tech industry?

We intend to build Billet to be an unmatched talent marketplace bridging the skills gap within the tech industry in Africa and beyond the continent. With our commitment to develop talent through remote work opportunities, we aim to disrupt the traditional workplace by fostering a hybrid working culture on the continent.

Additionally, we hope to inspire more youth to pursue careers in technical fields, bring Africa on par with the rest of the world in terms of technological advancement and rebrand African talent so they’re recognized for the quality of their skills.

6. What can be done to address the unemployment crisis in Namibia, and how do you see Billet playing a role?

As we know, the unemployment crisis in Namibia is a complex situation that doesn’t have one solution. It may require a mindset shift to address. This is particularly essential for the youth who look to the government to create employment opportunities for them.

Collaboration between the public and private sector, in terms of government organisations championing the formation of startup companies to solve complex problems in the country, may also be a possible route to take.

At its core, Billet serves as an educator, empowering unemployed youth to look beyond the local market for employment opportunities. We encourage people to consider alternative forms of working (freelancing and remote working) to make a living or to learn new skills that allow them to compete in the global market.

7. In your view, how has the HR profession and people management practices evolved in recent years, and what trends do you see emerging in the field in the future?

It is fairly evident that the profession has evolved over the last few years. This shift was accelerated due to the pandemic, which now means, in my view, the abundant ecosystem to create psychologically safe working environments, considering the state of affairs relating to the full scope of the HR value chain is at its highest priority. Crucial consideration would be around maximising value in terms of what the current global talent deems as important.

The following are the emerging trends that I believe should be a starting point:

• Humanising leadership positions, anyone who is occupying human capital positions, ought to advocate to have their employees seen as more than “staff members”. A refreshed reiteration of the significance of each staff member towards an organisation’s mission ought to be reinforced, post pandemic;

• Incorporating hybrid working style models and policies to take advantage of the current trend of retaining staff members;

• Transforming HR departments to becoming autonomous and incorporating self-services for its employees. This would ideally be incorporated from the early stages of the recruitment process until the employee is fully integrated in a workplace;

• Utilising data, in the form of people analytics (PA) to improve organisational objectives. I read a recent Deloitte article that speaks to the matter. Which they described as the use of measurement and analysis techniques to understand and optimize the people’s side of business.

• Optimising productivity by empowering employees to use more ways to meet each other digitally, for HR departments who would incorporate hybrid working policies can further encourage employees to work in the metaverse. In turn, this would foster collaboration between staff members who are working remotely/hybrid systems.

Billet is a true testament to the potential of exporting talent and the value of equal employment opportunities. With their commitment to developing tech talent through upskilling and creating a labour marketplace through remote work opportunities, Billet is paving the way for African talent to be recognised globally.