Spotlight Feature: Fuzu on their four year journey

Spotlight Feature: Fuzu on their four-year journey building talent and connecting them to the right jobs

With only four years since they started their operations in Kenya, they allow users to learn new skills and find jobs regardless of their levels of education has achieved so much.

Fuzu has curved their own niche to become a leading company in their area of expertise and stay ahead of the competition through providing other career services around counseling, learning solutions and also giving the members information about open positions and industry updates, providing support and guidance at different stages of user’s career.

For employers, the platform offers advanced search and recruitment solutions with competence evaluation and algorithm-based ranking to identify the best fitting candidates.

We had a quick chat with the Anne Kitare Head of Customer Experience at Fuzu, where she walked us through the four-year journey:

NG: Tell us more about Fuzu.

Fuzu (www.fuzu.com) is a career development platform and our core mission is to support career builders (job seekers) build meaningful and fulfilling careers. We also support companies efficiently manage the recruitment process, by providing a holistic approach to talent sourcing and management.

Being in the market for 4 years now and throughout this period, we have been able to support 100s of companies in East Africa each month in making the talent acquisition process more effective. We have also supported thousands of career builders to get meaningful employment and acquire skills that make them employable.

NG: What would you say sets you apart from other agencies in the same space?

We have a very holistic approach to career development where we look at it as a journey where we walk with the career builders all through their career life. Our approach to supporting them is purely built on a detailed understanding of our users and AI-based algorithms to enable us to provide a highly personalized user experience that supports Career Builders at every step of the way.  What exists in the market are mostly traditional job boards but we have taken it to the next level where we combine the best of the traditional job board and recruiter business models.

NG: You just turned four! Congratulations…what are some of the challenges that you have faced and how have you been able to work around these challenges.

The main challenge we faced initially when we were kicking off was getting the buy-in from employers who are still used to the traditional methods of recruitment. Luckily for us, the world is now evolving to the digitization and most companies are appreciating the importance of digitizing the recruitment process and this shift of mindset has worked in our favor.

NG: Still on the four-year journey what would you say has been your key milestone.

With only 4 years in the market, we are the fastest growing Career Community adding 1,000 Career Builders per day. We are also among the Top 50 visited websites in both Kenya and Uganda and we were nominated as the 3rd most exciting growth company in Africa by the African Business Review. The future looks very bright for us.

NG: Last year, you launched your operations in Uganda as well… what are some key considerations that companies should look at while seeking to expand?

Every market is different, and it is important to study the market well and tailor the needs to that specific market. It is also important to analyze the local competition in that market. Get to know which players in your space are doing quite well and those aren’t. This will give you a lot of insights that will guide your decision making.

NG: You are doing so well in the Kenyan market judging from the numbers shared previously. What would you attribute this success to?

I would attribute it to the team that we have at Fuzu. We are a team of highly motivated individuals who believe in the brand and its ability to become the go-to platform for emerging talent. This is something we are keen on when hiring as well to ensure that we are on boarding the right people. We also have a very result-driven culture at Fuzu, and every employee embodies that.

We also have deep knowledge of the market; this is crucial to ensuring that we are offering value to our users (Both employers and job seeker). This also enables us to provide a unique experience from what other players in this space provide.

NG: What are some mistakes that people make when preparing for jobs interviews?

Not reading the job description well and understanding what the role entails. It is important to research the company and the job position you are applying for as well. Most job seekers research the company in depth but forget to go through the job description.

Candidates also prep so much for the interview but forget to bring their energy with them. If you aren’t feeling enthusiastic at the interview, it’s hard to imagine you’ll be excited about your job when you join. Enthusiasm is contagious, and any interviewer will feel your drive and determination.

NG: What are some of the things that recruiters look for in people seeking employment?

Competence- This is crucial as every employer is looking for a competent person who can get the job done and deliver results.

Learning agility- this is very crucial especially in start-ups. One must possess the ability to learn from experience and adapt those experiences to other situations. This is one character trait that ensures success for a company and especially in this fast-paced world of technology.

Passion- It drives everything else. When you bring passion to your work you will always find the energy to go the extra mile.

NG: The best thing about joining Nairobi Garage

Networking and the community aspect makes it a really fun environment to work in. Nairobi Garage also has a feel-good atmosphere.The ability to interact with other companies in the space and share challenges makes it even better. Nairobi Garage has also supported our growth as Fuzu. When we joined the garage we were a team of two people in some corner desk and now we are a team of 26 in a private office!