Andela and the developers from the Silicon Savanah

Share this page

Featured story

From autonomous solar energy systems to mobile payment solutions for unbanked users, technology is helping to solve a wide range of major development problems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs across the continent are combining their technologies and knowledge to find solutions tailored to people’s needs and to drive sustainable growth.

THE CONTEXT

The revolution brought by new technologies in Africa is accelerating economic transformation at a spectacular pace. After exploring the functionalities of mobile and cloud technologies, start-ups are developing applications that are being used to develop differentiated business models adapted to their markets. They have thus created new technologies, specifically African and therefore in phase with the continent’s lifestyles and complexities, by relying on existing infrastructures in order to supply essential services that traditional approaches were failing to provide.

The continent has recently launched innovative solutions to the problems its citizens and businesses face. Moreover, recent initiatives have highlighted the strong potential of African technology companies to offer solutions to global problems. The visits of Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichain or Jack Ma just a few years ago prove how much the leaders of the sector are interested in the opportunities to be seized in the region. Proparco also intends to play its part by financing start-ups that provide concrete and innovative solutions to major development problems.

For the tech ecosystem in Africa, the future looks promising!

WATCH THE VIDEO

MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND ANDELA’S SUCCESS

Nairobi hosts the 3rd Andela campus, after those created in Lagos and Kampala.

Joshua Mwaniki, Andela’s Director for Kenya, presents Andela’s mission while young developers explain what motivated them to apply and join the start-up. Finally, Maurizio Caio from TLcom explains why the Tide Africa fund invested in Andela’s growth.

THE RISE OF VENTURE CAPITAL TO ADDRESS FINANCING PROBLEMS

Despite the investment opportunities presented by the tech industry in Africa, African start-ups lack the financing necessary to expand beyond their local markets.

This is why Venture Capital (VC) funds like TLcom TIDE Africa play a unique role. TLcom TIDE Africa is the first of these international funds to focus exclusively on technology-driven innovation and services in Sub-Saharan Africa at each stage of the venture capital cycle. It is supported by Proparco, which has invested US$5m in this fund since January 2018.

While this is undoubtedly a bold step, it is also a necessary one insofar as technologies could well be one of the keys to sustainable development in Africa. TIDE Africa therefore attracted the attention of Proparco, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank after its first US$40m round in 2017. One of TIDE Africa’s first investments was an equity investment in Andela.

ANDELA, AN AFRICAN SUCCESS-STORY

Founded in 2014, Andela is at the forefront of these technological upheavals. Its goal is to address the global technology talent shortage by investing in Africa’s most talented developers. An estimated one million jobs in this sector remain vacant in the United States alone. Moreover, this talent shortage is slowing the growth of major technological ecosystems.

Andela is therefore focusing on the African demographic dividend and investing in high-potential “grey matter” pools across the continent to help 100 partner companies form decentralized engineering teams. Andela currently has technology campuses in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda to provide technology leaders with centres where they can collaborate more effectively.

WORLD-CLASS TRAINING

To become an Andela developer, selection is rigorous. On average, ten out of 2,000 candidates join the company for four years on a full-time basis. For six months, the new recruits rub shoulders with the senior engineers and work within the internal product teams. Once their technological skills and teamwork skills have been confirmed, these employees join one of Andela’s 100 partner companies, whose teams they join as full-time engineers. A real asset for employees: “Even though I’ve worked here for less than two years, I’ve already had the opportunity to work with some really incredible global technology companies,” says Mbithe Nzomo, a young Kenyan developer.

Out of nearly 100,000 applications, Andela has today selected more than 900 developers, half of whom have been placed with partner companies. The others design Andela’s products in-house or are still following the integration phase.

A COMMITMENT TO EMPOWER WOMEN

Today at Andela, 23% of the developers are female; this figure is much higher than the world average of 5.8%. To promote gender parity in its teams, Andela organizes numerous recruitment campaigns and training seminars only open to women in Lagos and Nairobi. The company also launched the “She Loves Code”, a programme that allows professionals to become “godmothers” of young women in their community and to organize local events.

On the same topic

Anka secures US$5M funding to export Africa

September 19 2023

Joliba Capital, a new investment fund for startups in Western...

September 19 2023

Women Entrepreneurs in Africa Take on the Digital Industry

May 18 2022

Mid-Term Review of the Choose Africa initiative

December 15 2020

Proparco and Bpifrance launch Averroès Africa, their new fund of...

October 8 2020

Proparco supports fintech startups in developing countries

September 4 2019

Proparco invests in the development of start-ups in North Africa

December 9 2018

Digital Africa: supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa

November 19 2018