How Does Tesha Work? Your Guide to Finding Local Services

📱 Tesha runs on WhatsApp, not an app

The first thing to know is this: Tesha works entirely on WhatsApp. There’s no app to download, no customer website to log into, and no email signup to wrestle with.

You start by messaging the Tesha WhatsApp number. From there, you choose whether you want to hire someone or you want to earn by offering services. That’s the whole front door.

This matters because it keeps things familiar. If you can send a WhatsApp message, you can use Tesha. In Zimbabwe, that’s a big plus.

• Message Tesha on WhatsApp
• Choose: “I want to hire” or “I want to earn”
• Follow the prompts in chat
• Use it in USD, with provider top-ups via EcoCash or InnBucks

🛠️ How it works if you want to hire someone

If you’re the client, Tesha is completely free to use. No booking fee. No subscription. No commission. No client wallet or balance to maintain. You simply describe what you need, where you are, and when you need the job done.

Tesha then shows you verified providers near you, along with ratings and reviews. You pick the provider you want. That provider gets 30 minutes to accept or decline the booking.

If they don’t respond in time, or they decline, Tesha automatically sends the job to another provider. It can do this for up to 3 providers in total, and you don’t need to start over or press anything again. If a provider accepts, both of you receive each other’s name and phone number, and then you arrange the job directly.

• Clients pay nothing to use Tesha
• Describe the job, location and timing
• See verified nearby providers with ratings and reviews
• Pick one provider
• They have 30 minutes to Accept or Decline
• If needed, Tesha automatically dispatches to another provider, up to 3 in total
• Once accepted, you and the provider contact each other directly

💵 How payment works on Tesha

This part is refreshingly straightforward. Tesha does not handle job payments at all. The client pays the provider directly, at a price the two of them agree.

That means if you hire someone for cleaning in Greendale, yard work in Kumalo, or a quick plumbing fix in Borrowdale, you and the provider discuss the amount and settle it directly between yourselves. Tesha doesn’t hold the money, doesn’t take a cut from the job payment, and doesn’t add commission on top.

After the job is done, the client can rate the provider. That helps the next person make a better choice, which is handy because we all know “reliable” can mean very different things depending on who’s saying it.

• Client and provider agree the job price directly
• The client pays the provider directly
• Tesha never handles the money for the job
• Tesha takes no commission from what the provider earns
• Clients can leave a rating after the job

👷 How it works if you want to earn as a provider

If you want to offer services through Tesha, joining is free. You register on WhatsApp and share your name, National ID, city, the areas you cover, and the services you offer. Tesha then verifies you. This usually takes a few hours, though it can take up to 24 hours.

Once approved, nearby clients can find and book you. When a job offer comes in, you get 30 minutes to Accept or Decline. Credits are only deducted when you Accept. Not when the offer arrives, and not after the job is completed.

New providers start with 100 free credits. Each accepted job costs 10 credits, so that free balance covers about 10 jobs. After that, top-ups are simple: 1 USD gets you 20 credits, with a minimum top-up of 2 USD, paid via EcoCash or InnBucks. That works out to about 50 US cents per accepted job. Purchased credits never expire.

• Registration is free on WhatsApp
• You provide: name, National ID, city, areas covered, services offered
• Verification usually takes a few hours, up to 24 hours
• Each accepted job costs 10 credits
• New providers get 100 free credits
• 1 USD = 20 credits
• Minimum top-up is 2 USD
• Top-ups are paid by EcoCash or InnBucks
• Purchased credits never expire

📍 What services you can find on Tesha

Tesha covers the kinds of jobs people actually need help with, not just the glamorous ones no one ever books. Think everyday life: cleaning, yard work, errands, repairs, moving things, and care services.

So whether you need someone to help after a heavy Harare rainstorm leaves the yard looking rough, or you need a hand with shopping for an older relative, there’s a good chance the category already exists on Tesha.

• Household and cleaning
• Yard and outdoor work
• Errands and shopping
• Skilled tasks like plumbing and electrical
• Moving and hauling
• Pet care
• Senior care
• Home maintenance

✅ A few useful details people usually ask about

There are a couple of small details that make a big difference once you start using Tesha. Providers are the ones Tesha verifies, not clients. That helps clients browse people who have already been checked before they book.

For providers, your credit balance affects your status. If you have more than 20 credits, your status is Active. If you have 1 to 20 credits, your status is Low, which is basically your warning to top up before you miss out on work. If you hit 0, your status becomes Depleted and you can’t accept new jobs until you top up.

Also worth knowing: if a booking is cancelled, the credits are refunded. That’s one of those details that saves arguments later.

• Providers are verified by Tesha; clients are not
• Above 20 credits = Active
• 1 to 20 credits = Low
• 0 credits = Depleted
• Providers with 0 credits cannot accept new jobs
• Credits are refunded if a booking is cancelled