Building LocalHands — verified skilled work marketplace in The Gambia

Hey founders — sharing a progress dump and looking for sharp feedback.
What it is
LocalHands is a mobile-first platform connecting clients with verified skilled workers (not another pure WhatsApp group). Workers apply, get reviewed, show up in a directory; clients post jobs or request someone; claims, counters, ratings, and in-app payment tracking (Wave path) sit in one flow. Product of The Techwiz Lab.

Where we are now
Live PWA (Android-friendly), auth, roles (client / worker / admin)
Worker apply → admin verify → directory
Job ads + request-a-worker, claim / accept / counter / complete / rate
Web push notifications (request, claim, job ad, counters, admin test reports, etc.)
Job detail pages (workers + admin full view: people, money split, payment status)
Platform fee live in product: 10% total, split 5% client / 5% worker on the agreed budget
Security pass on Supabase/RLS before deeper payments work
Talking to Wave on business API / checkout (not fully wired yet on purpose)
Traction on the partnership side (not vanity metrics)
GTMI: meeting done; path to onboard 10–20 students as workers
Pipelines/conversations also with USET and GTHI (skills supply)
Earlier feedback from THET Fund: platform fee felt high → push toward lighter fees and/or subscription for companies
What we’re wrestling with
Pricing — Is 10% (5/5) too high for small local jobs and student workers? We’re considering lower take-rate for a pilot vs hybrid (pay-as-you-go + company subscription + placement fee for “hire a workforce”).

B2B — How would you charge a company that wants ongoing access to verified workers, not just one job post?
Cold start — With 10–20 students incoming, how do you seed enough real client jobs so the cohort doesn’t sit idle?
Trust — Verification is manual/admin-heavy by design. When do you automate vs keep human review in a low-trust, high-informality market?

Stack (for the curious)
Next.js, Supabase, Web Push, Vercel; payments intended via Wave (Gambia).
Not asking for applause — asking for war stories. If you’ve built marketplaces, labour platforms, or anything in emerging markets: what would you change first on fees, company plans, or onboarding a school cohort?

Happy to go deeper in-thread on any of the above.
— TechWiz · LocalHands · app.localhands.gm