Question 1

What is Rafiki Works?

Accepted Answer

Rafiki Works is a fractional agency and talent platform connecting global businesses with vetted South African specialists and micro-agencies. We work across AI engineering, automation, growth, SEO, and creative - on a fractional or fully managed basis.

Question 2

Where is Rafiki Works based?

Accepted Answer

Our management team is split across South Africa, the UK, and Canada. Our specialist network is based in South Africa. Our clients are primarily in the UK, US, and Europe.

Question 3

Who does Rafiki Works work with?

Accepted Answer

Startups, scaleups, and established businesses in FinTech, PropTech, SaaS, and e-commerce that need senior specialist capability without the cost or structure of full-time hiring.

Question 4

How is Rafiki Works different from a traditional agency?

Accepted Answer

Traditional agencies charge project rates and hand work to juniors post-pitch. We place senior specialists directly into your team - fractionally - so you get ongoing, senior-level execution at a fraction of full-time cost.

Question 5

How is Rafiki Works different from a freelance marketplace?

Accepted Answer

On a marketplace you find the person and manage everything yourself. We handle matching, vetting, contracts, compliance, and payments - and can manage the relationship end to end if needed.

Question 6

How can we work with Rafiki Works?

Accepted Answer

Three ways: (1) Embedded agency - brief us like an agency and we scope, staff, and deliver end to end. (2) Direct to talent - we match you with a vetted specialist and you manage them directly. (3) Anything in between - most clients use a mix of both.

Question 7

What is the minimum engagement size?

Accepted Answer

Engagements start from 3 hours per week. There is no minimum contract length to enquire.

Question 8

Is contract-to-hire available?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If a fractional specialist proves themselves in the role and you want to bring them in-house, we can facilitate that transition.

Question 9

How quickly can we get started?

Accepted Answer

Between 72 hours and 2 weeks, depending on the seniority and specialist skillsets required. We introduce a shortlist of matched specialists within 72 hours for most briefs, with more complex or senior placements taking up to two weeks.

Question 10

Do you work on one-off projects or retainers?

Accepted Answer

Both. We support one-off projects, ongoing fractional retainers, and hybrid arrangements that evolve as the engagement matures.

Question 11

What specialist areas does Rafiki Works cover?

Accepted Answer

Six practice areas: AI Engineering and Agents, Automation and Workflow Ops, Internal Systems and Ops Automation, GTM and Growth, SEO / AEO / GEO and LLM Optimisation, and Creative Strategy, Design and Development.

Question 12

What AI and automation tools do your specialists work with?

Accepted Answer

Our AI engineers work with LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini), RAG pipelines, and custom agent frameworks. Automation specialists work primarily in n8n, Make, and custom API integrations.

Question 13

Do you offer SEO for AI search, not just Google?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We offer optimisation across traditional search (Google), AI-generated answers (AEO), geographic and entity optimisation (GEO), and emerging LLM and MCP indexing.

Question 14

Can you provide a full team across multiple disciplines?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We can assemble a micro-agency squad - for example, a strategist, designer, and developer - managed as a single coordinated team with one point of contact.

Question 15

Do your specialists work with early-stage companies or only established businesses?

Accepted Answer

Both. We work with early-stage startups that need to move fast without building in-house, and with established businesses that need specialist capability they do not currently have on the team.

Question 16

How does Rafiki Works vet its specialists?

Accepted Answer

A three-stage process: application review, skills and experience interview, and full reference checks. Fewer than 1% of applicants are accepted into the network.

Question 17

Are these senior specialists or junior talent?

Accepted Answer

Senior. Every specialist in the network is vetted for proven, production-level experience. You are not managed by a senior and worked on by a junior.

Question 18

What happens if a specialist is not the right fit?

Accepted Answer

We fix it. Getting the match right is the point of our vetting and matching process, but if a placement is not working we will resolve it - you are not left to manage that yourself.

Question 19

How does Rafiki Works handle contractor compliance?

Accepted Answer

We manage all compliance centrally - contracts, KYC checks, and cross-border payment compliance - so you are not exposed to the risks of managing international contractors directly.

Question 20

Who signs the contract - us or the specialist?

Accepted Answer

You contract with Rafiki Works. We handle the downstream agreements with specialists, which keeps your legal and compliance exposure clean.

Question 21

How does invoicing work?

Accepted Answer

All invoicing is handled centrally through Rafiki Works. You receive a single consolidated invoice regardless of how many specialists you are working with.

Question 22

How do payments and cross-border settlement work?

Accepted Answer

Payments are processed through Petl Pay, which supports settlement in USD, GBP, and EUR with no SWIFT fees and direct payouts across African currencies.

Question 23

Can we manage payments directly to specialists if preferred?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you prefer to pay specialists directly, we can accommodate that - we remain the contracting and compliance layer regardless.

Question 24

How much does it cost to work with Rafiki Works?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the specialism, seniority, and hours per week. Fractional specialists typically range from $1,000 to $5,000 per month for 10 to 20 hours per week - roughly 25 to 40% below equivalent UK or US rates. All rates are presented upfront with no hidden markups.

Question 25

Why are South African specialists more cost-effective?

Accepted Answer

South African specialists typically cost 25 to 40% less than equivalent UK or US talent - not because of lower quality, but because of differences in local market rates. Many specialists in the Rafiki network have agency, startup, and international client experience.

Question 26

Are there any setup or onboarding fees?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no fee to enquire or to receive a matched shortlist.

Question 27

Why does Rafiki Works focus on South African specialists?

Accepted Answer

South Africa offers a deep pool of senior, English-speaking specialists with international experience - at 25 to 40% below UK and US rates. The timezone (UTC+2) gives full working-day overlap with the UK and Western Europe, and significant overlap with US East Coast hours.

Question 28

What is the timezone overlap with the UK and US?

Accepted Answer

South Africa operates on UTC+2 year-round. That is a one-hour difference from the UK in summer and two hours in winter. For US East Coast clients, there is typically a four to six hour overlap in morning hours.

Everything you need to know before we make an introduction.

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