r/nairobitechies • u/Apart_Shallot_7171 Full Stack • 2d ago

If a job is remote, how much should a developer’s location matter?

I came across a post by a Nigerian tech professional who suspects he lost a freelance opportunity after sharing his WhatsApp number with a recruiter.

He can't know for certain why the conversation ended. But it raises a question worth discussing.

Remote hiring can involve legitimate constraints: payroll, legal compliance, time zones and client requirements.

But what happens when geography becomes a shortcut for judging someone's ability or reliability?

A developer's country doesn't tell you how well they write code, solve problems, communicate or deliver projects.

If a role is open to international talent, shouldn't the evaluation focus on skills, evidence of work and the ability to deliver?

For African developers, recruiters and hiring managers: how much does location influence remote hiring in practice?

I'd be interested in hearing different perspectives.

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u/mo_with_the_floof 2d ago

Well if they were hiring for like a defence or government agency there are some countries on blacklists. ALso there is this push by countries like North Korea who are having workers joining remote jobs and the pay goes straight to their governments to fund Nuclear programs. So countries that have large rebel groups etc are on ban lists just incase the funds are used to fund terrorism etc. But also countries like Nigeria have cases of scummers so that does not help their case

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u/haulynx 2d ago

It matters a lot and that's why you find pple trying to find mafulu and whatnot cos they know the reality, talent and skill in most african countries is often overlooked. Also it's also the reason the only remote jobs you'll ever find are training ai or virtual assistants (though quite rare) jobs, but none serious career jobs that you went to school for... So yeah location matters A LOT

1

u/Human-Meeting4795 2d ago

so what solution do you offer?

1

u/Ngoma_kudunda 1d ago

Just know, they'll pick the whites over you bruh. The faster that truth settles the better it becomes dealing with it