Tunga is a startup that connects African coders to international software projects. It was co-founded by Ernesto Spruyt - a Dutch tech enthusiast.
The platform links individuals and companies with projects to available developers and project managers.
They started operation in mid 2015 in Kampala, Uganda. This is a little bit strange given that most people regard Kenya as the technology hub of the region - so one would expect them to consider Nairobi ahead of Kampala. They're right. That's what Ernesto, Tunga's Co-founder, wanted to do exactly - at first.
His first thought was to set up shop in Nairobi until he visited Kampala and found out that actually there're talented and enthusiastic software developers in Uganda. What surprised him most was that no one was looking to set up.
Asked if his thought to set up in Kenya was partly influenced by the launch of Andela - in that very period, Ernesto disagreed.
We're speaking to one of the Co-founders of @tunga_io today! Any questions you would like us to ask him? pic.twitter.com/uzs7rvHRP9
— StartupDigestAfrica (@DigestAfrica) March 22, 2017
Currently, Tunga has over 100 Ugandan developers signed up on its platform - and less than 20 from Kenya. These developers sign up as freelancers and earn an hourly wage depending on how long the project they're working on takes.
The startup charges 19 Euros per hour per task and 12.5 Euros go to the developer. For project management, 39 Euros per hour is charged and the project manager earns between 20-25 Euros of that depending on their level of expertise.
When we asked Ernesto how long, on average, it takes one to join - he told us that it's a matter of hours depending on how fast the developer can do their tests. The platform is open to any level of developer as long as they're able to please the clients.
All the work is done remotely and the teams are managed remotely. The developer and project owner use third party tools like Slack, BitBucket etc to keep in touch. Yet, according to Ernesto, they're working tirelessly to ensure they integrate all these in Tunga.
Recently, Tunga agreed to move into the yet to be launched Design Hub Kampala. Though currently, the team is still at Outbox Hub.
With Tunga, and the launch of Andela, Ugandan Developer are in for the best. It is upto to them to ensure they make use of these platforms and networks to up their skills.
Tunga will also give an option to developers who might not be interested in the full time employment which Andela offers given that one has the power to choose when and where they want to work from.
This means Tunga has to compete with the already existing Freelance websites like PeoplePerHour which some Ugandan developers have been using to find gigs.