Upwork (Elance & oDesk) expands its presence in Ukraine

Upwork is the biggest in the world freelance-platform, which unified Elance and oDesk. On May 26^th 2015, the company announced its presence expanding in Ukraine.

According to the researches, the freelance market is generated by $1 trillion, which is equal to 15% of the world`s labor-market.  Upwork offices are located in USA and Norway, but a design team, which is about 25% of their total number in the company, is in Ukraine.

Key figures of the company for 2014: 

Ukraine takes the 1^st place in Europe and 4^th place among the countries with freelancers. More than 82% of orders, which were filled by Ukrainian specialists, fall under the category of Software, and the hourly rate is equal to $19. The main clients of Ukrainian freelancers are residents of English-speaking countries: USA - 54%, UK - 7%, Australia - 6%, Canada - 5%. According to Ketil Olsen, the vice president for international affairs, Ukrainian specialists are highly valued for their responsibility and performance quality.

The strategy of Upwork development is focused on creation of opportunities for:

• quick freelancer acquisition,
• effective cooperation between them,
• the professional growth of talented specialists.

The company predicts growth by 10 times till 2020:

The platform offers interesting opportunities both for experienced specialists and beginners. For example within the frame of Upwork Pro programе, there will be available elaborate specification projects, minimal wage of which starts with $5000. Even though the Mobile development sphere is the most promising one, other occupations are also in-demand – in 2014 the notable increase of orders was witnessed in Customer service and Writing & Translation categories.

In Ukraine, Upwork company is represented by country manager Ekaterina Bozhkova. Her main tasks are the freelance culture development with the help of educational events and establishment of close collaboration with local IT companies and communities.