Tech in Africa
A survey titled ” state of software development report” identifies the hiring of developers as the leading challenge facing tech companies. Over 50% of the tech companies surveyed had already outsourced software development at one point or the other.
Andela, the developer outsourcing company is shifting from its old operational model. The company laid off 135 people in May and keeps shutting down international offices as it gears for fully remote operations. Andela will take applications from interested software developers across the African continent expanding past Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Egypt, and Ghana.
This remote pan-African model will steer Andela into an online marketplace accommodative to African developers willing to apply. Once accepted, the developers are matched to Andela’s client pool that often comprises of an American company in need of tech talent.
Andela is recruiting senior software developers across Africa who is adept in high-demand web framework and program languages. Developers will only be contacted according to projects available rather than full employment.
The move is a significant shift from their original business model that aimed to provide an opportunity to developers in far off regions such as Africa. That idea generated $180 million from leading investors such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg, former U.S Vice President Al Gore, and world tennis icon Serena Williams.
Andela has shifted from offering entry-level development training or employment where it would employ the developer for four years and incur the training cost. They are now focussed on earning revenues from developers signed up on their platform.
