People — Outsourcing & payroll
Your team, without the entity, payroll or paperwork.
Outsourcing is how you add staff in a country where you have no company. ProDevs finds the people, employs and pays them locally, and keeps the employment compliant. They work on your team, in your tools, on your priorities.
01 Who does what
We carry the employment, you keep the work.
The person is on your team in every way that matters to the work. Everything an employer has to do in their country sits with ProDevs.
ProDevs takes on
- Sourcing and assessment
- We search our network of vetted professionals first, then go to market for what it does not cover. You receive assessed candidates, not a pile of CVs.
- Contracts
- Offer letters and employment agreements, written for the country the person works in and reviewed before anyone signs.
- Payroll
- Monthly pay in local currency, with statutory deductions and filings, so the person is paid correctly and on time.
- Workforce operations
- Onboarding, equipment, leave, benefits administration and the everyday questions an employer has to answer.
- Performance and retention
- Performance reviews, regular check-ins and 90-day checkpoints, with a success manager who steps in before a problem slows your team.
Stays with you
- The work
- You manage day-to-day work directly: priorities, deadlines and standards.
- Your tools and routines
- The person works in your tools, such as Jira, Linear, Notion and Slack, with agreed overlap hours.
- The choice of person
- You interview the shortlist on your own terms and decide who joins.
- The size of the team
- You add or remove people as your roadmap changes.
02 What it costs
Two fees, depending on who finds the person.
If we find the people and employ and manage them for you, that is outsourcing. If you have already chosen them and need us to hold the contract, pay them and keep the employment compliant, that is payroll and compliance. Each is a percentage of salary; only the payroll fee has a monthly cap.
- Outsourcing Of salary. We find the person, employ and pay them locally, and manage the employment on your behalf.
- 20%
- Payroll and compliance Of salary, capped at $500 a month per hire. For people you have already found or chosen: we hold the contract, pay them and handle compliance.
- 5%
- Replacement guarantee Included in every plan, with vetted talent and a dedicated success manager.
- 2 weeks
- What the fees cover
- Both cover employment agreements, monthly pay in local currency, statutory deductions and filings, and leave and benefits administration. Outsourcing also covers sourcing and assessing the person, performance reviews and retention.
- Who the employer is
- By default, ProDevs: through our own employer of record in Nigeria, where we handle PAYE, pension, NHF, NSITF and ITF, and through partners in other African markets. Where a contractor agreement suits the role better, we use one instead.
03 Who it is for
Five situations, where outsourcing is the short route.
If one of these describes you, the alternative is usually a new legal entity, a payroll provider and a lawyer in each country.
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You are entering a market where you have no entity.
We recruit locally and handle contracts and payroll, so you can have people on the ground without opening a company first.
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You need more capacity, and your own team cannot stop to hire.
Launch new features without pausing internal teams, stand up an AI, data or automation team, or extend customer support and revenue operations with specialists.
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You have a hiring freeze, and the work has not stopped.
Outsourced staff keep product operations running while permanent headcount is on hold. The team can grow or shrink as the situation changes.
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You want to work with someone before making them permanent.
Start on a contract and move the person to full-time when you are ready. Our pricing page explains how contract-to-hire is charged.
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You already have people in Africa, and paying them is the hard part.
We take over payroll and compliance for the people you already work with. The team stays the same; the administration moves to us.
04 Roles covered
Technical and non-technical, on the same terms.
ProDevs started with engineering, product and design. The same process now covers finance, sales, operations, people, marketing and leadership roles.
Technology
- Software engineering
- Full-stack, React, Node.js, Python, PHP, Ruby on Rails, mobile and blockchain developers
- Cloud, DevOps & security
- DevOps, cloud, site reliability and cybersecurity engineers, database administrators
- Data & AI
- AI and machine learning engineers, data engineers, data scientists and analysts
- Product, design & quality
- Product managers, project managers, product designers and QA testers
Business functions
- Commercial
- Sales and account executives, business development, customer success, partnerships
- Operations
- Operations managers, project coordinators, supply chain and logistics, customer support leads
- Finance
- Accountants, financial analysts and controllers, payroll specialists, risk and compliance officers
- People
- HR business partners, talent acquisition, people operations, learning and development
- Marketing
- Growth and performance marketers, content, brand, product marketing, community
- Leadership
- Country and general managers, heads of department, COOs, CFOs and CTOs
05 How it works
Six steps, from first call to monthly payroll.
You stay focused on interviews and selection. We handle the sourcing, the paperwork and the day-to-day care.
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Consultation
Day 0
You
Tell us your business goals, the roles you need and any specific requirements.
ProDevs
Turn the conversation into the brief the search starts from.
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Selection
Within 48 hours
You
Review the shortlist, run your interviews and choose who joins.
ProDevs
Send candidates who match the brief, with a first shortlist inside 48 hours for most roles, and help you review profiles and schedule interviews.
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Contract
Once you have chosen
You
Sign the contract for the outsourcing service.
ProDevs
Send you a contract setting out the terms of the service. When it is signed, onboarding begins.
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Onboarding
Before the first day
You
Tell us which communication and project-management tools the team will share.
ProDevs
Handle the paperwork, payroll set-up and first-week logistics, and help set those tools up.
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Kick-off
First day
You
Meet your new team members and agree goals and expectations.
ProDevs
Schedule the kick-off meeting and make the introductions.
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Ongoing support
Every month
You
Direct the work day to day.
ProDevs
Run payroll monthly, check in regularly and make adjustments when something is not working.
06 Not sure outsourcing is right?
Four ways to bring someone in, and who employs them.
Outsourcing suits a full-time person you cannot, or would rather not, employ yourself. If you can employ them, or the work has a clear end, another model may fit better.
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Outsourcing & payroll
This page
- Who employs the person
- ProDevs employs and pays the person locally. They work on your team full-time.
- What you pay
- Outsourcing at 20% of salary. Payroll and compliance only, for someone you have already chosen, at 5% of salary, capped at $500 a month.
- Best when you need
- A full-time person in a country where you have no legal entity.
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Direct hire
Tech hiring- Who employs the person
- You. The person joins your company on your contract and payroll.
- What you pay
- A one-time placement fee of 10–15% of first-year salary.
- Best when you need
- A permanent member of the team, in a country where you can employ.
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Dedicated team
Dedicated teams- Who employs the person
- Not you. ProDevs handles payroll, compliance and retention for the team.
- What you pay
- A monthly retainer for the team.
- Best when you need
- A product manager, designers and engineers working on your roadmap together.
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Freelance project
Freelancers- Who employs the person
- Nobody. The freelancer is contracted for the project.
- What you pay
- The agreed price per milestone, through escrow, plus a 5% client fee. Free to post.
- Best when you need
- A defined piece of work with a clear end.
Need a whole function rather than a few people? That is a department buildout: structure, leadership and team planned as one engagement, with payroll where you have no local entity.
07 Client testimonials
Hear it first-hand, from companies that hired.
Founders, operators and executives describe working with ProDevs, in their own words.
Play video: Client testimonial: Olufemi Seyi, COO, Casafina development company
Play video: Client testimonial: Aproko Doctor, Building AwaDoc
Play video: Client testimonial: JT Liddell, Promenade CEO
08 Questions
Outsourcing, answered.
Something else? Book a call (opens in a new tab) and ask us directly.
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What is the difference between outsourcing and direct hire?
With outsourcing, the person is employed by ProDevs and dedicated to your company. With direct hire, the person becomes a permanent employee of your business, on your own contract and payroll.
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Can I take someone on in a country where I have no company?
Yes. If you do not have a legal entity in the country, ProDevs holds the contract and runs payroll and compliance, while the person works on your team day to day. We operate our own employer of record in Nigeria and work with partners in other African markets.
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What does outsourcing cost?
Outsourcing, where we find, employ and manage the person for you, is 20% of salary. If you have already chosen the person and only need payroll and compliance, the fee is 5% of salary, capped at $500 a month per hire. Our pricing page sets out these and the other hiring models, and we confirm the numbers for your roles once we understand the brief.
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Can ProDevs run payroll for people we already work with?
Yes. Companies that find it hard to pay their people in Africa, or that want one party to manage their talent and payments, use our payroll and compliance service on its own. The fee is 5% of salary, capped at $500 a month per hire.
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How is performance managed?
You manage day-to-day work directly. ProDevs handles HR, payroll, compliance, performance reviews and retention.
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Can I scale my team up or down?
Yes. You can add or remove team members as your roadmap changes.
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How quickly will I see candidates?
For most roles you see a first shortlist within 48 hours of agreeing the brief. The start date then depends on your interview process and the notice period of the person you choose.
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Which roles can be outsourced?
Technical roles such as software engineers, AI and data specialists, designers, product managers, QA and DevOps engineers, and non-technical roles in finance, sales, operations, people, marketing and leadership.
Talk to ProDevs
Who do you need on your team?
Tell us the roles and the country. We will tell you how the arrangement would work and what it would cost.