Co-Founder & CEO
Building Fairway: A Journey Towards Fair Opportunities
In 2024, my best friend and co-founder, Heikki, and I set out on a transformative journey to create Fairway, a recruitment platform with a bold vision. Our mission was simple but ambitious: to create fair opportunities for African talent and establish a verified talent pool tailored for the European job market. Through Fairway, we aimed to address the systemic challenges that often hinder the growth of both job seekers and employers in Africa.
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The Challenges We Faced
The African job market, while brimming with potential, is plagued by inefficiencies that prevent it from thriving. Employers frequently struggle with a flood of unverified data, which leads to wasted time, increased costs, and, ultimately, poor hiring decisions. Recruitment processes in many regions remain outdated, favoring those with connections rather than qualifications. For job seekers, the barriers are just as steep. Many positions go unposted, leaving qualified candidates in the dark about opportunities that could transform their lives.
Ethiopia, where we chose to launch Fairway, exemplifies these challenges. As the second most populous nation in Africa, it boasts a vast working-age population eager for opportunities. However, recruitment processes often rely on expensive, time-consuming, paper-based methods that exclude many talented individuals. This is where we saw an opportunity to make a real impact.
A Mission Rooted in Fairness
At the heart of Fairway is a commitment to building trust. We believe that a trustworthy job market begins with verified work history and qualifications. By partnering with universities, institutions, and local organizations, we’re creating a system where authenticity is the norm, not the exception.
Using blockchain technology, we provide job seekers with ownership over their credentials and work histories. This means a verified education is no longer just a piece of paper but a secure, digital asset that can be shared with confidence. Employers, on the other hand, gain access to a transparent talent pool, reducing biases and ensuring a fairer hiring process.
How Fairway Works
Fairway is designed to be as straightforward as it is revolutionary. For job seekers, it begins with creating a digital CV. Unlike traditional resumes, these CVs are built with verified credentials that showcase a candidate's qualifications and work experience in a trusted format.
Our platform then leverages AI to match candidates with job opportunities that align with their skills and ambitions. This not only saves time but also ensures that employers and job seekers find the best possible matches.
For employers, Fairway simplifies recruitment. By providing a pool of verified talent, we remove much of the guesswork and inefficiency associated with traditional hiring. This leads to better outcomes for businesses and opens doors for job seekers who might otherwise be overlooked.
Why Ethiopia?
Launching in Ethiopia wasn’t just a practical decision—it was a purposeful one. The country’s vibrant, young workforce is a testament to the untapped potential across Africa. Yet, the lack of digital tools and modern recruitment solutions leaves much of this potential unrealized.
We recognized that by introducing Fairway, we could address these gaps directly. Employers in Ethiopia currently spend between $200 and $1,500 per skilled worker recruitment—a cost that’s both unsustainable and avoidable with modern technology. By reducing these costs and increasing access to verified talent, Fairway offers a win-win solution for everyone involved.
Looking Ahead
Fairway is more than just a platform; it’s a movement. Our goal is to expand beyond Ethiopia, creating partnerships with universities and institutions across Africa. By empowering millions with verified digital identities and bridging the gap between African talent and global opportunities, we hope to make a lasting impact.
This journey is about more than just solving problems; it’s about creating possibilities. Fairway represents a fairer future, one where talent and opportunity can connect seamlessly across borders.
We invite you to join us on this transformative journey. Explore Fairway and become part of the movement toward a fairer job market.
