Fiverr, a popular online marketplace for freelancers, took steps to support Bangladeshi freelancers affected during internet outages.
Dhaka Tribune contacted Fiverr to discuss the challenges faced by these freelancers.
Laura Podesta, Public Relations Manager of Fiverr, told Dhaka Tribune: “Upon learning of the outage, Fiverr’s crisis action team immediately took steps to address the concerns of both freelancers and buyers affected by cancelled orders.”
According to Podesta, Fiverr’s customer service team prioritized both freelancers and buyers who reached out to the online platform regarding orders impacted by the outage.
Fiverr also protected freelancer matrix (statistics of freelancers) and ensured their remaining unaffected.
Fiverr’s buyers were also alerted about the outage via the platform.
“We explained the impact on freelancers' response rates and supported them in getting their work completed,” said Laura.
Regarding the lost orders, Laura Podesta said: “Our priority is always to protect and support our freelancers, especially during challenging times. We are pleased that broadband and mobile internet services seem to have been restored and our crisis response team remains on standby to assist any Fiverr freelancers who may still require help.”
Zahidul Islam, a Bangladeshi freelancer and Fiverr’s community manager for Asia, said that he had received thousands of calls and sms during the internet outage. “Just 2.5 years ago the mentality of people was that Fiverr is a rude company and not possible to trust where we only work for our earnings. But in the last two years, they started to trust and love Fiverr. And in this crisis, our freelancers are thankful to Fiverr, our community team.”
Dhaka Tribune also tried to reach Upwork regarding the same issue, but Upwork did not respond till the writing of this report.
Fiverr also issued a statement mourning the death of Mir Mahfuzur Rahman Mugdho, who was a freelancer on Fiverr, on Wednesday.
Mughdo was killed by a gunshot during the quota reform protest in Uttara on July 18.
Bangladesh stayed disconnected from both broadband and mobile internet between July 18 and July 23, when broadband internet was restored in stages.
Bangladesh was once again connected to 4G internet on July 28, 10 days after mobile internet connectivity was restricted across the country.