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For interview and speaking enquiries as well as for our media kit, please contact sidni[at]outsized[dot]com.

In the press

Seven critical questions to ask when building a competitive on-demand workforce

BizToday News: Avoiding common mistakes when onboarding independent talent is crucial for organisations to fully leverage their expertise. Azeem Zainulbhai from Outsized outlines five key areas to ensure the smooth integration of freelancers in a dynamic work environment.

Three ways smart managers use talent marketplaces to address skills needs

ITWeb Africa: Johann van Niekerk discusses how talent marketplaces revolutionizes recruitment by offering agile, flexible solutions that connect companies with top-tier professionals. These platforms, equipped with advanced analytics, help managers quickly address skills gaps and optimize costs while ensuring a good match in skill and culture fit.

man signing a contract

Contract-to-hire: Why this recruitment strategy makes sense for new talent acquisitions

BizCommunity Kenya: Johann van Niekerk advocates for the contract-to-hire strategy, emphasizing its adaptability and risk reduction in talent acquisition. This method allows companies to evaluate potential permanent hires through real job experiences, making it an effective approach in dynamic industries.

digital image of world and a hand hand touching the globe

The world is changing and your people strategy should be too

Tech Financials: Johann van Niekerk, Co founder and CEO at Outsized, emphasizes the importance of talent agility in today's volatile markets. He discusses how agile talent models, combining permanent teams with on-demand talent, enable businesses to adapt swiftly to changes.

wooden men in line with one out of line in a red tie

5 costly mistakes to avoid when onboarding independent talent

Entrepreneur Middle East: In a fast-evolving business landscape, the McKinsey Global Institute finds 87% of companies face skills gaps, stressing the importance of agile talent. Outsized offers seven key questions for identifying ideal independent professionals, focusing not just on skills, but also on potential cultural contributions and problem-solving abilities, ensuring alignment with dynamic business needs.

man riding a rocket

Southeast Asia’s fast growing freelancer market to boost local economy

The Edge Malaysia: Anurag Bhalla, Co-founder of Outsized, weighs in on the rise of freelance and contract work in Malaysia, outlining the advantages for both talent and employers in the region.

Freelancer in UAE

Freelancing in UAE: Growth and earnings

Gulf News: Freelance and short-term contract work in the UAE is picking up as it’s offering a win-win opportunity to both employees as well as employers. Read about what Outsized's Vikram Malhotra has to say about growth in the region.

Image of a light blub amongst crumpled papers

Six mistakes companies make when tapping into independent talent

Entrepreneur Middle East: Vikram Malhotra, Outsized's Managing Director (MENA), shares insights into the common pitfalls that companies must avoid to effectively harness the power of on-demand talent.

Image of man writing on note pad while a laptop is open

UAE’s freelancing sector is expected to experience significant growth

Gulf News: The UAE’s freelancing sector is expected to experience significant growth, driven by a global skills shortage anticipated to leave 85.2 million jobs unfilled by 2030. Azeem Zainulbhai, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer at Outsized discusses the substantial opportunity for skilled talent in the region.

Image of Azeem Zainulbhai, Cofounder and CPO of Outsized

How to successfully integrate independent consultants in you organisation

The Times of India: Outsized's Azeem Zainulbhai on few ways you can help to integrate independent talent successfully into your organisation. Recruit right, and proper onboarding are two of the success factors.

Hands of two corporate male employees in a meeting

Why consulting firms are tapping into independent consultant networks

Consultancy (ME): Talent is the cornerstone of consulting, but due to the skills shortage in the Middle East it is becoming increasingly challenging for consulting firms to meet client demand. Vikram Malhotra, Managing Director MENA at Outsized, outlines how consulting firms can effectively gain access to skilled talent through the use of independent networks.

Image of Niclas Thelander, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Outsized

Want to be a freelancer? You need these seven skills

People Matters: Outsized's Niclas Thelander shares insights into the seven critical qualities an individual need to make it as an independent professional.

Image of multiple Outsized team members in a boardroom session

How Outsized helps businesses adopt an agile working model without high overhead costs

The National News: Outsized Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Azeem Zainulbhai, features in the 'Generational Start-up' column where he talks about matching enterprise clients with independent consultants to drive efficiency.

Demand for agile-talent model to fill skill-shortage gap

Khaleej Times: Companies are struggling with chronic skill shortages as digital transformation takes centre stage in the MENA region. Vikram Malhotra, Outsized's MD (MENA) explained how consultants can bridge the gap between clients and flexible talent needs.

Image of Johann van Niekerk, Outsized CEO and South Africa MD

81.5% of professionals want to go freelance to earn work-life balance

Biz Community: Outsized's survey of 200 skilled South Africans across various fields shows 81.5% are contemplating freelancing. The survey found that the nudge many of them needed to turn this desire for independence into reality is the promise of guaranteed work.

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Survey finds SA women professionals boost income up to 61% by going freelance

Independent Online: Outsized marked Women’s Month by running a survey of female independent consultants in South Africa, to gauge their experience of working as on-demand talent. The poll results tell a story of women taking control of their destiny and empowering themselves, with most of them increasing their earnings and career experience.

TV, radio, and events

Image of Amneet and Anurag from Outsized related to their webinar titled Ace your consulting interview

Ace your next consulting interview!

A 45-minute session, where Outsized leaders share exclusive insights and interview tips, details on what hiring teams anticipate from candidates during various interview rounds, the influence of notice periods placement, red flags that hiring teams watch out for, and much more!

Webinar play button image

Unleashing MENA’s Freelance Potential: How to build new talent models

A webinar with Outsized's regional leaders about how to build new, agile, talent models in the booming and highly competitive Middle Eastern talent market.

Image of Aamir Khan, MMA pro and Outsized Co-founder Anurag Bhalla

Business lessons with Amir Khan: A fighter's playbook for high performance

An exclusive conversation featuring Amir Khan, acclaimed pro-MMA athlete from One Championship, along with Outsized co-founder, Anurag Bhalla, where they discuss the importance of strategy, resilience and teamwork to maximise your chances of success.

How to build and benefit from new talent models

Fiona Wong (Manulife), Kirsty Hill (Oliver Wyman) and Aki Taha (ex-Netflix, ex-Uber, now TalentStories) share their insights, playbooks and leading practices on how to build and benefit from new and emerging talent models to drive tangible performance improvement.

Image of Sheldon Burroghs and Johann van Niekerk related to the webinar titled - Freelancing and mental health

Freelancing & Mental Health – A webinar for independent talent

An engaging online event that sheds light on a commonly overlooked subject within the freelancing and independent consulting community.

The changing face of online freelancing

Luis Monzon, from IT News Africa's Digital Innovation Podcast, chats with Johann van Niekerk, CEO of Outsized about the changing face of digital freelancing across the continent and worldwide.

Press releases

Sara Kahula

Outsized expands into ANZ offering innovative solutions to flexible talent needs

Outsized has announced its expansion into the ANZ region, addressing agility and specialization shortages in enterprises and consulting firms. Led by Sara Kahlau, Managing Director, the company aims to redefine talent engagement with a unique human-first approach.

images of new hires at outsized

Outsized announces strategic senior appointments to accelerate global expansion

Outsized announces key senior appointments following a successful. These roles, crucial for global expansion, aim to strengthen operations and drive growth in on-demand talent markets. New hires include Jannie Theron as Financial Director and Srikant Krishnan as MENA Regional Lead, among others, enhancing Outsized's capabilities in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East.

Selected team members from Outsized

Outsized closes Series A round, led by Knife Capital

Outsized announces the successful completion of its Series A funding round. Led by South African venture capital firm Knife Capital, the round also includes investment from several private investors including Adrian Durham, founder of the global wealth management platform FNZ Group.

Image of a Talent Pool dashboard for clients

Outsized launches Talent Pool feature in the MENA region for companies to tap talent and create new capabilities

Outsized launches Talent Pool, a new feature that allows organisations to get ahead of their capability curve and have access to talent “ahead of demand” to service current and future requirement for project-based work.

Infographic of the top skills in-demand in the MENA region in 2022

Outsized reveals the skills most in demand in the MENA region in 2022

The findings from Outsized’s Talent on-Demand report 2022 highlight the sectors making the most use of flexible talent models and the skills of the future to address the growing skills gap.

An image to represent the launch of Outsized's exclusive Community platform

Outsized launches its exclusive Community to help independent consultants network and win more work

Outsized's survey reveals common challenges for independent consultants, such as isolation and limited support. To address these, Outsized has launched an exclusive Community offering networking, mentorship, live webinars, focus groups, and upskilling resources.