Kenya is one of the top of African countries known to have a citizenry that is always adopting new technology faster than the citizens from some countries on the continent. This has led to more startups targeting the Kenyan market with their products and services.
There are countries from other countries targeting Kenyan users with their apps / software and there are also Kenyan companies creating products just for individuals and businesses living within Kenya. And of course there are Kenyan companies that have also managed to take their solutions beyond the borders.
In Kenya, you will find that there are players in the software development niche…
- Offering custom solutions to banks, saccos and micro finance institutions
- New players helping government bodies build various systems (billing systems / tax systems etc).
- Providers creating and selling payroll software, ticketing systems, hotel management software, chama (investment group) software.
- More developers building and managing different products offered by the top Telcos in Kenya.
- Companies working on massive projects in the public sector and private sector – like Tata, Cellulant, Craft Silicon and Seven Seas Technologies.
Which means that there will always be a growing demand for not only great developers, but testers and security experts to keep all these apps and systems working smoothly.
All these programs / software and systems can be susceptible to attacks by hackers. So, if you really want to continue making your system bulletproof, you might want to find some freelancers you can hire purely for testing purposes. Maybe out of it, you may find an error that if fixed now can save you thousands / millions in cost later down the road – in lawsuits or when customers jump ship.
Why hire freelance programmers and developers to test your software / system
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- To check for potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities. You can hire freelancers to review your code – all of it or sections of the code – to see if there are any areas that would make breaches by an external attacker possible.
- To get patches for any vulnerabilities you uncover.
- To figure out solutions for any security problems uncovered during testing / ethical hacking. The freelance bug hunters you hire can help you come up with code to tighten your system and make it more secure.
And the good thing is that you can choose to work with them one-time or give them more work down the road.
People who might be interested in having another set of eyes review their code include
WordPress theme developers. So, people creating themes from scratch to sell on their own websites or marketplaces like Theme Forest or Mojo Marketplace.
WordPress plugin developers. So, people creating plugins and extensions for WordPress / WooCommerce to sell on their own websites or marketplaces like Code Canyon.
App developers publishing on Google Play Store targeting users of the Google Android operating system – smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop computers and smart devices like TVs / smartwatches using Android.
App developers focusing on Apple App Store. So, creators developing apps for smartphones, laptops and other devices using Apple iOS.
Developers creating applications for Microsoft Windows operating system. So, people targeting owners of devices running Windows 10 on their laptops, tablets and computers for example.
Manufacturers of devices trying to take advantage of IoT tech. Internet of Things, it is getting big and security / privacy has usually been a concern for many consumers. So, if you are developing anything that will rely on IoT tech to benefit a consumer, you might want to look into hiring bug hunters to make your system and devices more secure.
Developers and businesses dependent on other content management systems like Joomla, Magento, Prestashop. So, if your business rides on top of other platforms (for example if you are building and selling templates and add-ons for these different systems) you want to make sure your code is clean and secure. You want to make sure you get someone to help you eliminate doorways someone may use to hack your clients websites and deface them or steal information.
Developers of apps in the finance niche. You want to make sure your apps are secure mainly as a privacy concern, but also because everybody is happy when they know their financial details haven’t leaked and started doing rounds on the web.
Developers of privacy tools. So, for example if you are a creators of VPN solutions, computer antivirus software, extensions for web browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera among other) you want to make sure the solutions you provide users can be trusted. And that they work well. It is really strange when a tool created to protect privacy becomes an easy target for people who want to breach systems used by various devices constantly connecting to the internet.
Clone app developers. I mean you know that if people coming to you wanting help to create a site similar to one of the top sites out there (like eBay, Amazon, Yelp, Craigslist, Pinterest, PayPal, Kijiji, UpWork, Facebook, AWeber) you want to make sure you hire some people to find and squash as many bugs as they can. Then you can periodically release patches to your clientele at a fee or for free.
Developers in the health sector. This is another area where data privacy is a sensitive matter. If you already run a system where you store patient data that must be protected at all times, you might want to bring in someone to periodically test the integrity of your system – and to create patches for the vulnerabilities they unearth.
SaaS providers. If you run a software as a service business that you had someone code from scratch, regularly hire someone to spot bugs and update your code to make your whole system more secure ….and to attacks.
Financial institutions such as banks. Kenyans banks alone lose millions of Shillings every year on breaches targeted at their systems. So, this is another sector that can very much benefit from the services of bug hunters.
Government bodies both at the national and county level. As the Kenyan government continues to digitize most records and take more and more services online, they must get in the habit of allocating reasonable amounts of money towards ensuring their systems remain secure. And definitely some of those monies should go to bug hunters working on a freelance basis.
Startups. Founders of startups can also benefit from the services of bug hunters even if they have an internal team handling all their development work, system administration and security.
The process of hiring freelance bug hunters on Niabusiness
First, you will have to figure out what you need help with before you start looking for a freelancer to help you.
Then go to the Niabusiness Classifieds page and check the ad listings in the Coding, Programming, Web & App Dev.
Reply to the ads placed by some of the developers to see if they would be willing to check your system / code / apps / software / server / website / plugins / themes for bugs and help you patch any vulnerabilities they find.
When they message you, go into detail about what you are looking for. Ask about their experience. Just see if they can deliver on the task you want to outsource.
Talk about your budget, and see how much they want as payment.