Your Trusted Partner for Recruitment in Guinea-Bissau

To better fulfill your recruitment needs, we at Remote People are here to help you find top talent in Lesotho more effectively than recruiting on your own. Our team understands the local language, customs, and the intricacies of the Basotho talent market, giving you a significant advantage in securing the right candidates.

We know where to advertise your job openings to ensure maximum exposure and attract the best talent. Additionally, we assist in designing competitive, locally-appropriate compensation packages that not only appeal to top candidates but also help you optimize costs. 

Get in touch with us to navigate Lesotho’s recruitment landscape with confidence and ease.

Key Takeaways

  1. Guinea-Bissau’s GDP has quintupled in the past 25 years, and similar growth is expected to continue.
  2. Guinea-Bissau is a low-income country with workers who are highly affordable for foreign organizations.
  3. More than half of Bissau-Guinean workers work in agriculture, but the service sector is continually expanding.
  4. Recruitment agencies and Employers of Record can help foreign organizations source top talent in the country effectively.

Guinea-Bissau is one of five countries with Guinea in its name, so it added the name of its capital city, Bissau, in 1974 to make things clear. This was a statement from a newly independent country, one which had struggled against Portuguese colonialism and succeeded in 1973.

The territory of this country includes its mainland area between Guinea and Senegal, as well as the roughly 90 Bissagos Islands off its western coast. A small West African country, Guinea-Bissau’s population is only 1.978 million in 2024. It also has a small GDP of $2.19 billion USD in 2024 but this amount represents steady growth over the past few decades.

In 2000, the GDP was only 0.39 billion, meaning that the country’s economy has grown by five times in fewer than 25 years. This economy is based largely on fishing and agriculture, though new opportunities in services and manufacturing are on the rise. The workforce of Guinea-Bissau is relatively small with 726,412 in active employment in 2023.

However, this represents a participation rate of around 60% which is very close to the global average. This also means there are lots of Bissau-Guineans that are willing and available to work if you’re thinking of hiring people for your organization either remotely or in-country. This review will take you through how to recruit Bissau-Guineans and how to keep them happily and compliantly employed.

Overview of Guinea-Bissau Recruitment Industry

The workforce of Guinea-Bissau is relatively young and looking for work to support their families and improve their quality of life. While reliable unemployment data is hard to come by, the labor participation rate of around 60% suggests that many people who could be employed are not, though this doesn’t take into account childcare, elder care, or other informal work. 

The labor market in the country is loose, and that leaves opportunities for employers to attract top talent for their businesses with moderate benefits and salaries. The economy of Guinea-Bissau has been growing quite steadily since 2000. It’s based largely on agricultural production, including products like cashews and tree nuts (representing 95% of exports), peanuts, rice, fish, palm oil, and timber.

Agriculture contributes around 45% of GDP, while services now account for 41% and industry for just 14%. At the same time, 50.9% of workers are employed in agriculture, while 39% are in services such as communications, transportation, healthcare, education, and financial services.

Guinea-Bissau uses the West African CFA franc (XOF) together with seven other countries in West Africa. This currency trades at around 1 USD to 600 XOF and is relatively stable as it’s used by over 100 million people in countries with a combined GDP of over $130 billion. Despite decades of steady growth, Guinea-Bissau has a very low per capita GDP of just $1090/person per year.

The minimum wage is 59,000 XOF/month (around 100 USD/month), though skilled workers make between 200,000 and 500,000 XOF/month (335-835 USD/month). Therefore, while employers must also pay social security contributions of 16% of workers’ salaries, labor costs in Guinea-Bissau are still very low.

Recruiting in Guinea-Bissau can be challenging for foreign organizations with no business or cultural experience in the country. Most jobs have traditionally been filled through personal connections, and only recently have businesses begun to advertise positions online. Big companies have been working to build their brands and attractiveness as employers to attract the country’s top talent.

If a foreign organization wants to compete, it can also do so by building a presence and advertising vacancies on social media. They can also post vacancies on the country’s most popular job sites, such as Africaonjobs and LinkedIn.

However, if your organization doesn’t have the time or resources to hire on your own, it’s often worth working with a recruitment agency or Employer of Record (EOR) that offers recruitment services. These providers have the ability to use their local networks and knowledge of the labor market to find their clients the workers they need.

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Benefits of Recruiting in Guinea-Bissau

Employers will discover several advantages to hiring Bissau-Guineans, whether they’re looking to hire them remotely or to work in permanent positions with new ventures in the country. These advantages include:

Gateway to West Africa

Hiring Bissau-Guineans can help companies establish themselves not only in that country but in the entire region. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) market with a combined population estimated at over 425 million.

Highly Affordable Workforce

It can be very affordable to hire Bissau-Guineans, especially for foreign firms based in more developed countries. With a minimum wage of just 59,000 XOF/month (about 100 USD).

Employers need to contribute 14% of workers’ salaries for old age, invalidity, and survivors’ benefits and 2% for occupational accident insurance for a total of 16%. However, there are no payroll taxes here, making employees very inexpensive.

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Language Skills and Diversity

For a small country, Guinea-Bissau has a very diverse society. While dominated by Balanta, Fula, and Mandinka people, there are at least 11 other significant local ethnicities, as well as mixed Portuguese-Africans and a Chinese population. 

People speak many different languages but use Portuguese and a Portuguese creole language called Kriol as their languages of communication. Any organization looking to do trade in the larger region and to gain the value of diverse perspectives will benefit from this range of languages and cultures.

Legal Considerations When Recruiting in Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau is a country that is developing culturally, economically, and legally. The Constitution of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau 1984 (revised 1996) and its labor code lay out basic protections for the rights of both workers and employers. If you want to hire Bissau-Guinean employees for your business, these are some major points of law to be aware of:

Contracts

Contracts in Guinea-Bissau can be either written or verbal, although written contracts offer better protections and fewer misunderstandings. All contracts must include the terms and conditions of employment, including the job role duties, wages, working hours, benefits, and duration of employment of the worker. If no duration is included, the contract is considered permanent.

Working Hours & Overtime

Bissau-Guineans typically work 40 hours per week in most sectors and a maximum of 48 hours per week for agricultural work. They normally work eight hours a day, five or six days a week. When their hours exceed this limit, they must be paid at least 150% of their normal wages for overtime hours. It’s also important to note that overtime hours are capped at just 100 hours per year and it is illegal to exceed that threshold.

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Workers in Guinea-Bissau must receive one full 24-hour period of rest each week which is normally on Sundays. All employees are entitled to seven days of leave for every four months they work, which translates to 21 days of leave each year. This leave can be used at any time throughout the year, provided the employee requests permission in advance from the employer and is approved.

Bissau-Guineans celebrate ten holidays per year, including religious observances and national days. These holidays are considered official days off, and workers must be paid their normal wages on these days.

Parental Leave

General parental leave for childcare is not provided in Guinea-Bissau. However, expecting mothers are entitled to a minimum of 60 days off work while their employment is protected and they are paid their normal wages.

They are also protected by laws prohibiting heavy or dangerous work during the time of pregnancy. There is no entitlement to paternity leave in Bissau-Guinean law, though this allowance can be added to contracts on an individual basis.

Notice and Severance

Bissau-Guineans can be terminated without notice for gross misconduct, repeated absenteeism, or if they’re provided with more favorable contract bargaining terms. In other cases, including economic reasons causing downsizing or closure of an organization, they must be given notice of their termination.

One month’s notice is given to employees with fewer than three years of service to a single employer, while employees with longer periods of service receive two months’ notice. Termination in Guinea-Bissau is simple. Workers are paid one month’s wages for each year of service they provide to an employer.

Anti-discrimination Law

The Constitution of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau protects citizens from discrimination based on race, sex, social status, intellectual or cultural belief, and religious identity. This law protects workers from discrimination in all recruiting, hiring, and employment practices.

How to Choose a Recruitment Agency in Guinea-Bissau

It can be a tremendous challenge to hire workers on your own in Guinea-Bissau. A more effective and time-saving way to do it is to work with a recruitment agency or even an Employer of Record (EOR) that offers recruitment services.

These providers can source and screen workers on your behalf, but not all of them are equal in what they offer. When choosing a service provider to partner with, be sure to consider the following factors:

Services

Consider the services you require and ensure that any provider you’re considering is able to offer all of them to you. You may require standard recruitment for permanent positions, temporary staffing, or even support for contractors or employees over the long term.

Fees

It’s not always easy to compare fees, as many providers opt to keep their pricing hidden. Instead, they require potential clients to contact them and provide information on their needs so they can receive tailored quotes.

In both cases, the provider may not provide all its pricing and may try to add extra fees. For that reason, it’s important to clarify all fees before you engage any recruiter.

Experience

New providers can have the youthful energy of a new business but may lack the professional experience of an established agency. Many firms also offer international recruiting, but may not have experience specific to recruiting in Guinea-Bissau.

Look for recruiters who have been in the business for a while to take advantage of their experience, and don’t be afraid to ask for details about their specific history of working in this country.

Reviews and Ratings

It’s always a good idea to look at reviews and ratings to help judge how a service provider performs. Just remember to look at reliable rating sites and take negative reviews with a grain of salt as they’re more likely to be posted than positive ones.

Guinea-Bissau is a developing country where business opportunities are expanding and the economy is growing steadily. This means there are many chances for employers to hire local talent for their ventures. This country’s workforce is young, diverse, and highly affordable making Guinea-Bissau a very interesting place to look for employees.

Recruit Top Talent Across Africa with Our Recruitment Expertise

Navigating the complexities of hiring and workforce management across different countries can be challenging. Partnering with the best international recruitment firms ensures you stay compliant with local labor laws, streamline the hiring process, and secure top talent. Learn how Remote People can help you recruit in the following countries:

Recruitment Coverage in Africa
AlgeriaAngolaBenin
BotswanaBurkina FasoBurundi
Cabo VerdeCameroonCentral African Republic
ChadComorosDemocratic Republic of Congo
DjiboutiEquatorial GuineaEthiopia
GabonGambiaGhana
GuineaGuinea-BissauIvory Coast
KenyaLesothoLiberia
LibyaMadagascarMalawi
MaliMauritiusMorocco
MozambiqueNamibiaNiger
NigeriaRepublic of the CongoSao Tome and Principe
SeychellesSouth AfricaTanzania
TogoTunisiaZambia
Zimbabwe  

Ready to find your next star performer or build a leadership team in Guinea-Bissau? Contact Remote People today

Ready to recruit top talent from Guinea-Bissau? Remote People can help. Contact us today to discuss your recruitment needs and discover how we can assist you in achieving your business objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

A recruitment agency is a service provider that searches for workers and sources appropriate candidates who can best meet the needs of its clients. Many recruitment agencies source workers for both permanent positions and also for temporary staffing. They typically charge a percentage of each worker’s salary or a flat rate per hire.

 

An Employer of Record (EOR) is a service provider helping businesses that don’t own entities in the country to legally hire Bissau-Guineans. The EOR acts as the legal employer of the local workers and manages compliance with labor and tax laws. It will also typically manage payroll, benefits, and other HR functions and may offer recruitment services as well.

Recruitment in Guinea-Bissau can happen in many different ways. Organizations can recruit workers on their own, hire recruitment agencies, or even work with EORs. They can look for permanent or temporary workers for fixed terms. The HR staff of an organization can work with recruiters or completely outsource this work through a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) arrangement.