Managed Fractional AI Squads

1. What a managed fractional AI squad is

A managed fractional AI squad is a small team of senior specialists who work with you part-time or by project, coordinated by Rafiki. Instead of hiring one expensive full-time generalist, you get a focused group, often a builder, an engineer, and an operator, who cover the skills a piece of AI work actually needs. Rafiki handles vetting, matching, contracts, and payments, so you manage outcomes rather than overheads.

2. What our squads do

Squads are built from six core capabilities. Each links to a detailed reference page.

3. Managed squad vs freelancer marketplace

4. How it works

You send one brief describing the outcome you want. Within 72 hours we return a vetted shortlist from a bench where the average specialist brings 15 or more years of experience and the network has delivered 50+ international projects. You pick the people, they embed in your tools and standups on your working hours, and Petl Pay handles cross border billing in GBP, EUR, ZAR, and stablecoin without SWIFT fees.

5. Pricing and value

• A managed squad costs a fraction of building the equivalent team in-house, and avoids the bigger risk of hiring permanent staff before you have validated the need.
• Because every specialist runs on best-in-class AI tooling, a squad of 2 to 4 delivers what used to take a much larger team.
• Pricing is set per brief, based on the squad size, skills, and time you need.
• Scale from a single specialist to a full squad without changing tools or contracts.

6. The roles in a Rafiki squad

• Fractional GTM specialists
• Fractional sales specialists
• Fractional MCP & AI agent engineers
• Fractional chat-based app builders
• Fractional forward-deployed AI engineers

7. Frequently asked questions

What is a managed fractional AI squad?

A small team of 2 to 4 senior specialists who work with you part-time or by project, coordinated by Rafiki, covering the mix of skills a piece of AI work needs.

How is this different from a freelancer marketplace?

Rafiki vets, matches, and manages the squad and handles payments. A marketplace gives you a directory of individuals to screen and coordinate yourself.

What roles can a Rafiki squad include?

GTM and sales specialists, MCP and AI agent engineers, chat-based app builders, and forward-deployed engineers, plus automation and AI enablement support.

How fast can you assemble a squad?

We return a vetted shortlist within 72 hours of your brief, and squads typically start within a week.

How much does a squad cost?

Pricing is set per brief, based on squad size and seniority. A managed squad costs a fraction of building the equivalent team in-house, and because every specialist runs on best-in-class AI you get senior output without committing to permanent headcount before you have validated the need.

Where is the talent based?

Our core bench is in South Africa, where Rafiki's founders are from, and we also place vetted fractionals from the UK and Europe. Everyone works your business hours with strong overlap for standups and delivery.