Andela’s Contribution to Nigeria’s Rising Tech Hub

For the past two decades, technology has been at the center of American society. The rise of the Internet and the advancement of technology has caused an increase in jobs and salaries, as well as growth within the economy. Over time, technology has spread globally, creating opportunities for billions of people around the world. As it has spread, tech start-ups have been established to create employment opportunities for these bright individuals from all over. One popular place tech start-ups have expanded to is Lagos, Nigeria. With the rise of tech start-ups in Nigeria, a door has been opened to increase Nigerians’ access to jobs that have been rapidly created due to this societal shift towards tech. With millions of dollars in startup investments in 2016 alone, Nigeria is a rising power in the tech world. One of the start-ups created in order to take on this feat was Andela.

Andela is an American startup founded in 2014 with headquarters in New York and Lagos. When created, its goal was to fill the 1.3 million software development jobs expected to arise in the next decade with top tech talent from Nigeria. According to an article written by David Ryan Polgar titled “How Nigeria’s Rising Tech Hub Is Addressing the Software Developer Shortage,” he stated that the Nigerian economy is stable enough to support this new class of talented developers and entrepreneurs. Andela’s four-year program is extremely rigorous and competitive, however, the company hopes that their graduates will help to support and grow the tech scene in cities like Lagos and all across the country. The company hopes to supply tech companies with an endless supply of software developers. Since its founding in 2014, Andela has raised over $80 million and grew to obtain over 1000 employees, including over 600 developers (Polgar, 2018). Andela hopes to support the African tech hub ecosystem, increase developer skill-sets, attract investments, and create future mentors while molding the next generation of self-reliant tech entrepreneurs (Polgar, 2018). With family ideals integral to many African households, the co-founders of Andela are optimistic that Andelans will ultimately reinvest within their communities.

Citation

Polgar, David Ryan. “How Nigeria's Rising Tech Hub Is Addressing the Software Developer Shortage.” Dell Technologies, 4 June 2018, www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/perspectives/how-nigerias-rising-tech-hub-is-addressing-the-software-developer-shortage/.

Image: https://awpnetwork.com/2017/01/22/apply-to-the-andela-fellowship-for-software-development/