CaterpillHERs, a Pakistan-based company that helps women launch and scale their businesses and careers, has partnered with Upwork, the world’s work marketplace, to provide women in the CaterpillHERs cohort access to coaching on Upwork Academy, an interactive learning hub that provides career tips, upskilling opportunities, and other educational resources. As part of the collaboration, members of the CaterpillHERs career accelerator program will receive tools, resources, and coaching related to working and succeeding on the Upwork platform.
“The partnership between Upwork and CaterpillHERs will allow us to bridge the gender gap in the freelancing industry by providing women in our career accelerator with verified and vetted content on using the platform and also receiving hands-on coaching by the team at Upwork. Upwork’s support and coaching to women in our cohort have definitely been a game-changer for us,” said Hira Saeed, CEO, and Founder of CaterpillHERs.
Pakistan has massive potential for freelancing growth with 63% of the total population in the country below the age of 25. The country also ranks 4th in the world for its growth in the freelancing market.
Women can become the epicentre of this growth by leveraging their existing skillsets and learning new skills remotely. Due to the care work responsibilities women have in a country like Pakistan, freelancing can be a life-changing career option for them.
“The hands-on coaching from Upwork’s team makes the platform more approachable and less scary for these aspiring freelancers,” said Faiza Yousuf, Director of CaterpillHERs. “I have worked with Upwork before and their team is always super supportive. They truly are an inclusive organization and that is why our values align so well.”
“One important aspect of building and scaling a freelance career is learning and growing from people that have done it before and having the support of a like-minded community,” said Fran Murphy, Vice President of Community at Upwork. “We’re proud that we can provide coaching for members of CaterpillHERs so that they can connect, learn, and grow, and have a more engaging Upwork experience.”
For more information on the CaterpillHERs cohort, please visit the Freelance Career Accelerator program page, and for additional information on Academy, please visit Upwork Community.
CaterpillHERs is a platform that helps women launch and scale their businesses and careers. The company provides a world-class curriculum vetted by experts, 1:1 high-touch coaching & mentorship, and an action-packed yet flexible learning experience through acceleration programs. The freelance track of CaterpillHERs career accelerator is a 12-week remote, flexible, and interactive course that enables women to launch and scale their freelance careers to new heights. For more information, visit caterpillhers.com/apply
Upwork is the world’s work marketplace. We serve everyone from one-person startups to over 30% of the Fortune 100 with a powerful, trust-driven platform that enables companies and talent to work together in new ways that unlock their potential. Our talent community earned over $3.3 billion on Upwork in 2021 across more than 10,000 skills in categories including website & app development, creative & design, customer support, finance & accounting, consulting, and operations. Learn more at upwork.com and join us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.