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> What I also meant by payment problems is the disparity between the conversion rates in banks and on the streets. This is also a problem where I live (Nigeria

> What I also meant by payment problems is the disparity between the conversion rates in banks and on the streets. This is also a problem where I live (Nigeria). It's exhausting explaining black/parallel currency markets to clients/employers in countries with more stable currencies. Way too often I get the knee-jerk reaction that I'm doing something shady/illegal.

Jugurtha 6y ago
filleduchaos, that's a badass handle. >It's exhausting explaining black/parallel currency markets to clients/employers What's the delta like there between parallel/official rates?
- filleduchaos 6y ago
  It fluctuates depending on how far up its own behind the central bank has its head, but usually isn't too bad - it can stretch out to ~1.5x while the official "market" is in denial, but usually stabilises at about 1.2x to 1.3x depending on currency and source. I've settled on maintaining a domiciliary bank account (denominated in USD) - SWIFT transfers take a few business days, but that's not a problem for steady income and clients can usually be persuaded to eat or split the fees. Plus it's easier to tell people I prefer to receive and hold USD than to explain the state of the economy. Also WorldRemit recently added same-day direct-to-bank deposits of USD in Nigeria-based USD-denominated accounts; I've only received money that way a couple of times though.
ilianam 6y ago
I know, right?! People who haven't experienced it don't get it. I think the knee-jerk reaction impacts Nigerians especially unfortunately. (My parents used to live in Nigeria and when my dad tried to buy something on eBay, they froze his account. Later when he lived in Venezuela, people were more sympathetic.) So are there any solutions we should be looking into beyond cash transfers / Western Union? Are any startups working on this problem?
- filleduchaos 6y ago
  There's https://sendcash.africa https://sendcash.africa - it uses cryptocurrency to facilitate transfers to (Nigerian and Ghanaian, but there are plans to expand throughout West Africa and beyond) bank accounts from anywhere. It's powered by Buycoins (YC S18) - maybe you could look into working with them?
  - ilianam 6y ago
    Thank you! Will check in with them when we're exploring more robust payment solutions. Hopefully by then they'll have solved this problem & expanded to North Africa etc...
kaladin_1 6y ago
Hi @filleduchaos, a Nigerian here, pls, if you don't mind could give few pointers on how you scored your first few foreign jobs. I've sent out so many resumes and cold emails, I have as many rejection letters to prove so. I know there's sth I'm not doing well. Currently studying all sorts of Algo books. Thank you
- dang 6y ago
  Don't miss the "Who Wants to Be Hired" and "Freelancer" threads that get posted each month by this auto account: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring. The Jan threads are now closed (HN threads close to new comments after 2 weeks) but there will be another one on Feb 1. No guarantees, of course, but people definitely get work that way. Good luck! I hope you find something soon.
- ilianam 6y ago
  This is what Manara candidates often have experienced too, even when they're excellent. It can be very hard to get the attention of tech companies if you're applying from a country they don't usually work with, especially as a junior engineer. Some companies get 2k applications/role so the resumes go into an automated system to be processed. Manara solves this problem by setting up partnerships with companies for our candidates. Have you thought about joining Andela?

Jugurtha 6y ago

filleduchaos, that's a badass handle. >It's exhausting explaining black/parallel currency markets to clients/employers What's the delta like there between parallel/official rates?

filleduchaos 6y ago
It fluctuates depending on how far up its own behind the central bank has its head, but usually isn't too bad - it can stretch out to ~1.5x while the official "market" is in denial, but usually stabilises at about 1.2x to 1.3x depending on currency and source. I've settled on maintaining a domiciliary bank account (denominated in USD) - SWIFT transfers take a few business days, but that's not a problem for steady income and clients can usually be persuaded to eat or split the fees. Plus it's easier to tell people I prefer to receive and hold USD than to explain the state of the economy. Also WorldRemit recently added same-day direct-to-bank deposits of USD in Nigeria-based USD-denominated accounts; I've only received money that way a couple of times though.

ilianam 6y ago

I know, right?! People who haven't experienced it don't get it. I think the knee-jerk reaction impacts Nigerians especially unfortunately. (My parents used to live in Nigeria and when my dad tried to buy something on eBay, they froze his account. Later when he lived in Venezuela, people were more sympathetic.) So are there any solutions we should be looking into beyond cash transfers / Western Union? Are any startups working on this problem?

filleduchaos 6y ago
There's https://sendcash.africa https://sendcash.africa - it uses cryptocurrency to facilitate transfers to (Nigerian and Ghanaian, but there are plans to expand throughout West Africa and beyond) bank accounts from anywhere. It's powered by Buycoins (YC S18) - maybe you could look into working with them?
- ilianam 6y ago
  Thank you! Will check in with them when we're exploring more robust payment solutions. Hopefully by then they'll have solved this problem & expanded to North Africa etc...

kaladin_1 6y ago

Hi @filleduchaos, a Nigerian here, pls, if you don't mind could give few pointers on how you scored your first few foreign jobs. I've sent out so many resumes and cold emails, I have as many rejection letters to prove so. I know there's sth I'm not doing well. Currently studying all sorts of Algo books. Thank you

dang 6y ago
Don't miss the "Who Wants to Be Hired" and "Freelancer" threads that get posted each month by this auto account: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring. The Jan threads are now closed (HN threads close to new comments after 2 weeks) but there will be another one on Feb 1. No guarantees, of course, but people definitely get work that way. Good luck! I hope you find something soon.
ilianam 6y ago
This is what Manara candidates often have experienced too, even when they're excellent. It can be very hard to get the attention of tech companies if you're applying from a country they don't usually work with, especially as a junior engineer. Some companies get 2k applications/role so the resumes go into an automated system to be processed. Manara solves this problem by setting up partnerships with companies for our candidates. Have you thought about joining Andela?