ROAM Africa, the parent company of Jobberman and Cheki, enforces remote work policy

ROAM (Ringier One Africa Media) Africa—a leading marketplace company in Africa—has announced the enforcement of a company-wide remote work policy as part of efforts to protect its workforce from COVID-19 virus.

Henceforth, all 400 staff of ROAM Africa in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda would be working remotely.

The portfolio companies of ROAM Africa include Jobberman—Nigeria's leading job portal and career platform—and Cheki—an online marketplace for cars in Nigeria. Others are BrighterMonday, Kenya's job portal, ZoomTanzania, Expat-Dakar, BuyRentKenya, and Qefira.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Jobberman said: "We're aiming for 100% of Jobberman staff to work from home, to minimise the likelihood of infection. However, our support team will still be available during all working hours".

COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge, but African countries face particular headwinds from the virus given their fragile economies and underdeveloped health care systems.

Its impact in the region could be severe. In these unprecedented times, we’re committed to the safety of our staff. Our employees’ well-being and health are critical to our ability to continue our important work of connecting people to opportunity.

The Head of Talent at ROAM Africa, Heather O'Shea, is leading the shift to remote operations.

"The most important thing right now is the safety and well-being of our staff members—and we have been swift to move to a remote working policy," O'Shea said.

In February, ROAM Africa had increased travel restrictions and implemented a self-quarantine policy for its staff traveling to countries with high numbers of COVID-19 cases. The continuous spread of the pandemic across the continent has mandated the new company-wide remote work policy.

O'Shea said, "Working from home can be challenging, so this is only the start: the challenge is to equip our people and teams with the right mindset and tools to work effectively from home. This comes with investments that we are willing to make."