Is It a Good Deal for the Professionals? Pay and Conditions Through Tunga
Yes. Tunga pays its professionals several times what comparable local jobs pay, on time and in euros or US dollars. In most of the countries Tunga works in there are too few local jobs for digital professionals, and the ones there are often pay a few hundred euros a month. Besides pay, they gain experience with international companies and newer technologies, a step into an international career, plus access to the Tunga Academy, support before and during each engagement, and freedom in how and where they work. Some are employed through an employer of record, with employee rights. Many stay: about 1 in 5 have worked through Tunga for 4 years or more.
What professionals earn
Tunga pays its professionals several times what comparable local jobs pay. In most of the countries Tunga works in, there are too few local jobs for experienced digital professionals, and the ones there are often pay a few hundred euros a month. Startup Genome's 2025 report puts the average software developer salary at about $7,500 a year in Lagos and $14,700 in Nairobi. Tunga bases its rates on salary benchmarks and its own knowledge of each market, and sets them per role and level of experience.
What Tunga keeps
Per hour worked, Tunga's margin is in the same range as, or below, what European IT staffing agencies keep. Listed IT staffing companies report gross margins of around 15-22% on contract rates (SThree 21.7%, Hays 15.3% in 2025), and in the Netherlands such rates average €70-100 an hour. As a percentage Tunga's margin is higher, because pay in the professional's country is lower than in Europe.
Payment comes every month, on time, in euros or US dollars, depending on the client's contract.
What they get besides pay
- A start to an international career. Experience with companies in Europe and North America, with newer technologies, and with how professional international teams work, from code review to planning and documentation. For many professionals it is the step into an international career.
- The Tunga Academy, with training in professional skills and communication with international clients.
- Support before and during an engagement. Preparation before the start, and a delivery manager who checks in with the professional as well as with the client.
- Freedom. Professionals work from where they live and plan their own work within the client's requirements.
- A next placement. When an engagement ends for reasons outside the professional's control, such as a budget cut or a project ending, Tunga tries to find them a new one. Over the past four years, about a third were placed again.
Contractor or employee
Most professionals work through Tunga as independent contractors; some are employed in their own country through an employer of record. Both forms have their own advantages. Contractors keep the most freedom over how they work and arrange their own tax. Through an employer of record, professionals get employee rights in their own country, such as paid leave and social security.
How long professionals stay
About 1 in 5 professionals have worked through Tunga for 4 years or more, across clients; the longest for 7 years. About 1 in 4 have had more than one placement through Tunga.
What clients add to it
Pay is one part. Professionals stay longest where they are treated as part of the team: included in stand-ups and decisions, given feedback, and told about plans that affect their work.
Where Tunga fits
Tunga takes the staffing side off the plate of companies that need digital professionals: software engineers, AI operators, product managers and other digital roles, from across Africa. The client directs the work. Tunga handles finding and vetting, contracts, payments and compliance, onboarding, keeping people, and replacing them when someone leaves or it isn't working. The professionals are independent freelancers contracted by Tunga and work remotely from their own country; the client has one contract, with Tunga, and a delivery manager who checks in with both sides. In 2025, about 1 in 56 placements ended because the professional left for another job. Founded in 2015; 3,500 professionals across 38 African countries and 300+ client companies, as of September 2026.
Tunga is not the right fit when the role has to be on site, when the work means talking to your clients in a language other than English or French, or when saving on cost is the main reason you're looking.
Need capacity now?
Tell us what you're looking for. We'll get back to you within one working day.
Tell us what you need