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Andela

https://andela.com/

Three years ago we started Andela to build a network of top software developers across the African continent and bridge the divide between the US and African tech sectors. We’ve since launched operations in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, received more than 70,000 applications to Andela, and hired around 500 developers -- the majority of whom are working as full-time, distributed team members with leading tech companies around the world.

There are five open jobs for every developer looking for one in the U.S. alone -- and there is zero chance the domestic market is going to solve this. In order to access top talent, regardless of location, many of the most respected engineering brands are moving toward a distributed model of work. Automattic, the parent company of Wordpress, is fully distributed. Stack Overflow, Github, and Atlassian are mostly distributed. Andela allows companies to move in that direction earlier by providing the talent and support to efficiently scale a high-performing, distributed workforce.

Africa is home to 1.2B people and 7 of 10 of the world’s fastest growing internet populations. The fact that we haven’t seen more overlap between the African and US tech sectors is crazy, but that’s changing quickly. U.S. venture firms are increasingly investing in African startups, and with recent visits from folks like Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai, the world is beginning to pay serious attention to tech on the continent.

Andela is at the forefront of these rapidly growing tech scenes. For developers, the value proposition is simple -- we offer Africa’s most talented technologists a platform to connect with some of the world’s leading tech companies and build their expertise on a global scale. Our tech campuses in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda provide central hubs for tech leaders to collaborate, and initiatives like the Distributed Learning Community provide resources and mentorship to thousands of new developers each month.

To become an Andela developer, applicants first go through 64 different psychometric and skills assessments. We have a ~0.7% acceptance rate, and the application process is a multi-month period. Those who are accepted then spend 6 months onboarding with our senior engineers and working on our internal product teams. Once they’ve proven excellence in both tech and team skills, they join one of our 100+ partner companies (which range from industry leaders like Viacom to venture-backed startups like Gusto and CrunchBase) where they work as full-time engineering team members.

Developers commit to four years with Andela when they join. While we haven’t reached the four-year mark yet, we fully anticipate that post-Andela, our developers will go on to launch and scale some of the world’s most impactful tech companies. Ultimately, by investing in Africa’s most talented software developers, our goal is to equip a generation of African technologists to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.