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After 25 years helping companies build teams, Ive seen white-collar work evolve through tech booms, market crashes, and management fads. But todays shift is more foundational: hybrid teamsmade up of both full-time employees and independent consultantsare becoming the new norm. That shift isnt just changing how we hire. Its redefining how we lead. This transformation isnt loud. Theres no single event driving it. Instead, were seeing the cumulative effects of digital communication, the rise of remote work, and AI accelerating the unbundling of traditional roles. Layer in economic uncertainty and a demand for agility, and you get a workplace where roles are modular, teams are fluid, and independent consultants are often at the center of mission-critical work. According to the Barton Partnerships 202425 Independent Consulting & Advisory in Review Report, a survey of over 8,500 independent consultants, more than half of independent consultants have been working this way for over five years. And theyre not just filling gaps. Over 40% of projects covered in the report focus on strategic advisory or business transformationcore priorities, not side projects. Given the prevalence of hybrid teams, its important managers understand how to lead them. The challenges of leading hybrid teams Hybrid teams promise flexibility and specialization. But they also create friction points. Independent consultants dont typically have access to the same tools or context as full-timers. Theyre rarely looped into company rituals or cultural onboarding. And because they often work across clients, they expect efficiency, not red tape. At the same time, full-time employees may not know how to integrate or collaborate effectively with project-based teammates. Who leads? Who owns decisions? Whats the chain of command? If leaders dont proactively address these gaps, hybrid teams can underperformeven when every person on the team is highly capable. New rules of engagement To lead hybrid teams effectively, we need new playbooks. Below are four principles Ive seen work across industriesfrom Fortune 500s to high-growth startups. 1. Treat consultants like partners Independent consultants may not appear on your org chart, but theyre often just as vital to outcomes as your full-timers. Treat them like partners, not vendors. That means sharing strategic context, offering meaningful feedback, and giving them a seat at the (virtual) table when decisions affect their work. In one client engagement, a consultant brought in to redesign pricing models ended up shaping the entire customer segmentation strategybecause the executive team treated her as a partner, not as a temporary resource with limited ability to contribute. 2. Build clarity, not bureaucracy Independent consultants dont need training portals or team-building retreats. What they do need is clarity: Whats the objective? Who makes decisions? How do we define success? For example, a global healthcare client I advised included consultants in key all-hands meetings during a transformation initiative. The move cost nothing but created buy-in, accelerated delivery, and avoided misalignment across internal and external contributors. A private equity-backed company I worked with created a one-page onboarding doc for every independent consultant engagement. It included scope, stakeholders, communication cadence, and KPIs. It wasnt fancybut it saved hours of friction and got everyone aligned on day one. 3. Culture countsfor everyone Too often, leaders assume that culture building is just for full-time employees. But independent consultants contribute to outcomes and influence team dynamics, too. Even if theyre only involved for a few months, they should understand the why behind the workwhat drives decisions, what behaviors are rewarded, and how the team operates. That doesnt mean inviting them to every offsite or virtual happy hourespecially when it might require unpaid time or travel. But it does mean being intentional about cultural signals. One global fintech client I worked with included independents in project kickoff rituals and team Slack channels where norms were discussed openly. Another offered every consultant a quick-start culture brief with core values, communication styles, and meeting etiquettenothing formal, just practical context to help them plug in. Small gestures like these help independent contributors feel included, aligned, and empowered to delivernot just execute. When people understand the culture, they make better decisions faster, regardless of their employment status. For example, a global healthcare client I advised included consultants in key all-hands meetings during a transformation initiative. The move cost nothing but created buy-in, accelerated delivery, and avoided misalignment across internal and external contributors. 4. Respect the boundaries that make consulting appealing Most consultants choose independence for a reason: flexibility, autonomy, and variety. Micromanaging or overloading them with administrative burdens undermines what makes the model effective. Set expectations, provide access, and then let them deliver. One enterprise client I worked with gave consultants direct access to the systems and stakeholders they neededno ticketing queues, no multi-step approval chains. By clearing a path and trusting their expertise, the company sped up delivery and avoided the kind of bottlenecks that often frustrate external contributors. Thats what the best hybrid leaders do: they dont treat consultants like employees. They treat them like experts. The future of leadership is situational Hybrid teams arent an experiment anymoretheyre a structural change. That means leadership itself needs to evolve. Todays best leaders dont rely on static team structures or one-size-fits-all management styles. They flex. They tailor how they lead based on whos in the room (or on the Zoom call), what the mission is, and how the work gets done. Whether you’re a startup founder, a team lead inside a multinational corporation, or a consultant navigating both worlds, one thing is clear: success in todays workplace requires more than staffing roles. It demands fluency across modelsfull-time, freelance, and everything in between. That shift might be quiet compared to other workplace trends. But its not going away.
Category:
E-Commerce
Africas e-commerce sector is experiencing a renaissance. In 2025, Africas retail e-commerce is expected to reach over $39 billion, and $55 billion by 2029. This growth is driven by ambitious brands, from contemporary fashion labels to innovative lifestyle businesses, capturing both local and international demand. These businesses are leveraging digital commerce and modern payment rails to reach more customers than ever before. E-commerce is also emerging as a critical lever to help businesses recover from economic shocks and unlock the trade potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Yet one critical barrier threatens to limit their growth: access to affordable, flexible credit. Medium-scale e-commerce enterprises, those beyond micro-entrepreneurship but not yet large corporations, face a unique financing challenge. These businesses are too large for microfinance but often too small, or perceived as too risky, for traditional commercial banking. Despite steady sales, loyal customers, and growing brand equity, they struggle to secure financing to scale production, expand logistics, or invest in technology to serve a wider market. The financing shortfall for sub-Saharan Africa exceeds $331 billion, with medium-sized consumer-facing businesses among the hardest hit. A report by USAID and eTrade Alliance which surveyed over 2,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, shows that these businesses are eager to expand e-commerce capabilities, internet connectivity, and invest in digital transformation, but access to finance remains one of their greatest barriers. Consider, for instance, a mid-sized Nairobi fashion retailer that grew steadily through an online storefront but struggled to finance improved packaging and marketing to reach buyers in Europe. Despite years of consistent sales, it was unable to access credit on reasonable terms because traditional lenders viewed its cash flows as unpredictable. Cases like this are widespread. As Africas middle class expands, with roughly 212 million people projected to reach middle income status by 2030 and consumer spending expected to hit $2 trillion in 2025the demand for e-commerce will surge. However, tight credit access could block supply-side growth. When growing brands cannot secure credit to expand inventory, strengthen logistics, or build new supplier partnerships, they risk ceding market share to bigger, better capitalised competitors. These missed opportunities ripple through ecosystems and impact suppliers, logistics firms, and technology partners that depend on a thriving e-commerce sector. 4 things that need to improve Credit is not a luxury for these businesses. It is essential to transform local brands with global ambitions into long-term economic engines. It can do so by following these four principles. Smarter lending evaluation. Information asymmetry hinders small and medium enterprise (SME) financing in Africa; many small businesses lack formal financial records and credit history. This leads traditional lenders to demand high collateral given difficulty in assessing risk. To overcome this, lenders should use real-time transactional data (e.g., e-commerce sales, inventory, customer reviews) to accurately assess creditworthiness for excluded SMEs. Data-sharing partnerships. Payment providers, marketplaces, distributors, and banks should collaborate to share transaction histories and supply chain data, helping lenders assess risk with confidence. Blended finance and risk-sharing facilities. Scale public-private instruments like the Africa Guarantee Fund and the Bank of Industry risk-sharing arrangements. These reduce lenders risks and help lower the cost of credit. Targeted financing for digital transformation. As the Alliance for eTrade Development research shows, many MSMEs want to invest in better internet connectivity, digital marketing, and fulfilment capabilities but cannot secure affordable loans for these upgrades. New financing products tailored to e-commerce investment would directly unlock their growth potential. The opportunity ahead As governments and the private sector work to advance e-commerce policy frameworks under AfCFTA, prioritizing simpler customs procedures, strengthening cross-border payments, and improving digital ID systems, credit access must rise to the top of the agenda. Payments are a foundation, but credit is a growth driver. We must build the financial tools that empower Africas most ambitious entrepreneurs to dream bigger, scale faster, and compete globally. When they grow, Africa grows. Olugbenga GB Agboola is founder and CEO of Flutterwave.
Category:
E-Commerce
Its time to admit it: Too much of the social impact sector is still funding yesterdays solutions while claiming to advance towards a better tomorrow. Ive been in this sector since I was a teenagerfirst as a volunteer, then a builder, and now the founder of one of the fastest-growing global tech-for-good ecosystems. In July, I spoke at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, where my Tech To The Rescue team co-organized the inaugural Impact Awards with the U.N. Reviewing hundreds of applications made one thing clear: AI is not a spreadsheet upgrade. It’s not a shiny new tool to tape onto old processes. It’s a paradigm shift that will fundamentally change how social impact work gets doneor if it gets done at all. Yet as funding tightens worldwide, too many well-meaning philanthropies and public funders continue to back safe innovation. They’re pouring dwindling dollars into essential training programs and pilots, often without the deeper, fundamental work of building truly AI-native organizations. Or worse, they simply bolt AI onto outdated models as superficial add-ons. This isnt just a tactical mistake. Its a systemic failure. Because the stakes arent theoretical. When the wrong approach wins funding, real communities lose time they dont have. The sectors favorite stance: Were ready Tinkering and experimentation are crucial in innovation; they’re the messy beginning, the fearless exploration of doing something differently. But most current AI upskilling strategies don’t go deep enough. They promise transformation but deliver surface-level tool adoption. They teach nonprofits to use chatbots, or off-the-shelf SaaS without changing the underlying mindset or organizational DNA. Tools alone won’t bridge this glaring gap between today’s organizations and tomorrow’s reality. By 2027, technology will be talking to technology. And how do we respond to that? Currently we translate 20th century workflows into 21st century software. We optimize the wrong things. Were not preparing social impact organizations for a future defined by machine learning, large language models, and autonomous decision systems. Were handing them hammers and asking them to fix microchips. And yes, some of this is our own fault as an industry. We reward safe proposals. We praise incrementalism. We design funding cycles to avoid complexity. And then we act surprised when no one steps up with real change. What AI-native impact could look like At the AI for Good Summit, reviewing projects was a crash course in where the sector is getting it rightand wrong. Some of the winners point to exactly the kind of AI-native, partnership-driven future we need: CareNX Innovations built an AI-powered fetal monitoring system for rural clinics without specialists, helping reduce preventable infant deaths. Not just automation, but new, accessible medical capability. SmartCatch by WorldFish combines machine learning, computer vision, and on-device species recognition to help small-scale fishers manage sustainable catch while fighting biodiversity lossa systems-level intervention that includes everyone. Farmer.Chat from Digital Green offers localized, voice-based agricultural advice in low-literacy, low-connectivity settings. Large language models adapt to context, not just push generic tips. Sophia from Spring ACT is an AI-powered chatbot offering secure, anonymous, multi-language support to domestic violence survivors worldwideshowing how ethics and impact can be built in from the ground up. These arent just shiny demos. Theyre working examples of how AI can help build real, resilient, human-centered solutionsif were willing to fund them. Stop funding AI add-ons and start funding disruption If youre a funder, this is the call to get serious. Stop funding cosmetic changes. Invest in the transformative. Look for partners who dont just want to use AI, but who are ready to become AI-native. That means backing organizations willing to rethink how they deliver services, measure impact, and collaborate across sectors. It means funding those willing to merge, partner, or even cannibalize their old models to serve people better. We cant afford to keep funding NGOs that add AI as a feature. We need to help build the next generation of social impact organizations that are designed from the ground up for an AI world. A future worth funding What does that future look like? Its one where nonprofits stop solving problems in silos. Where they build shared infrastructuredata, models, platformsto tackle challenges at scale. Where small teams use AI to compress timelines and costs, making solutions accessible in the places with the fewest resources. Its a world where human expertise focuses on empathy, ethics, and hyperlocal context, while technology handles the repeatable, the predictable, the scalable. Weve seen glimpses of this at Tech To The Rescue. Through our AI for Changemakers program alone, weve worked with over 100 organizations in the past year to move beyond one-off pilots. Weve helped them build AI strategies, access affordable tooling, and design real solutions for crisis response, healthcare, education, and more. And even with all that, too many nonprofits still struggle to implement, let alone scale. Because the real barrier isnt tools. Its the ability to disrupt themselves before the world does. The case for betting on disruption If youre a donor, an investor, a policy maker: Your job isnt to make organizations comfortable. Its to make them effective. That means funding the ones ready for the rollercoaster. The ones that want to build shared systems, not own proprietary ones. The ones willing to be accountable for outcomes, not just activities. And yes, it means accepting some failure along the way. Because the alternative is pretending we’re changing the world while replicating the same failures at scale. Stop talkingstart funding disruptors For too long, our sector has been stuck in a looptalking, workshopping, strategizing, while advancing slowly. The world doesn’t need more frameworks. It needs action. Full disclosure: At Tech To The Rescue, we’re climbing the same hill. We wrestle with impact tracking, speed, and staying in the zone of truth over hype. Some days we move too slowly. Some days we move too fast. We dont always get it right. But this is the only way to build anything that matters now. It’s messy. It’s hard. But it’s also how were going to win. By 2030, the social impact sector wont look like it does today. Many nonprofits will merge or vanish. The ones that remain will be AI-native, collaborative, and ruthlessly focused on outcomes, not activities. If you want to fund something that will matter in 2030, start fuding those building that future now. Jacek Siadkowski is CEO and cofounder of Tech To The Rescue.
Category:
E-Commerce
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