Cyber Ethiopia

“The market for our service is getting better and better. This is because many people are becoming aware of our service and job seekers and employers are ever increasing than it is used to be,” said Yiradaw Mekonnen, a self-employed man who is engaged in the brokering service in the Casa Inces area. The brokering service is a common business in Addis Ababa. The Casa Inces area is one of the places where the service is being provided. There are twenty-six brokers working in the area. The brokering service includes contacting job seekers and employers, sellers and buyers of goods, house renters and owners and many others. Job seekers from different corners of the city gather there and look for jobs. Employers need to contact brokers first. They

inform the brokers about the requirements needed from an employee. Then the broker makes them get in contact with the required employee. If the employee and employer agree, they are required to sign the agreement. The agreement form includes address of employer and the surety of the employee. After the employer fills out the form, he will go to the gaurantor along with the employee for concluding the deal. If the surety agrees, the hiring process is over. The agreement, in three copies, will be distributed among the employer, the surely and the broker. “The broker receives a certain amount of money as a commission from both parties. On average, he earns up to thirty birr a day,” Yirdaw says. “Eleven years ago I happened to be around the Casa Inces area with one of my relatives to help her to be hired through the broker who was working at the place. Unfortunately, the broker was not available. While I was looking for him, a prospective employer came close to me and asked me if I was a broker. I told the employer that I was not a broker but was waiting for him. The man said that he was looking for an employee and asked if he could take the woman with me for employment. We arrived at an agreement. Then he took the woman after he paid me six birr as a commission. From that day onwards, I began the brokering business,” Yirdaw said. The advantage of the brokering service is three-fold. Job seekers get benefits from getting jobs;employers can get employees who can satisfy their needs, and brokers also earn their living through the service.