This African Startup Is Brought to You by Mark Zuckerberg

By Chris Stein*

LAGOS, NIGERIA—

Andela fellows work on projects at the company’s office on June 30, 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria. (Photo: Chris Stein for VOA)

At a nondescript building in Lagos’ Yaba neighborhood, Startup Andela hires aspiring software developers for a four-year program that teaches them the skills they need to work for IBM, Microsoft and other tech firms.

The company won a huge vote of confidence last month, when it received a $24 million infusion of capital, most of it from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a charity fund run by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife.

Andela is the Initiative’s first investment since being created by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, after the birth of their child last year. “We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Andela’s mission is to close that gap,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.

Andela fellow Tolu Komolafe works at the company’s office on June 30, 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria. (Photo: Chris Stein for VOA)

Twenty-four million dollars isn’t an unheard of amount of money in Africa’s tech startup world. Africa Internet Group, which runs Jumia, the continent’s leading e-commerce website, brought in nearly $300 million in investment this year.

iROKOtv, a movie streaming website, took in $19 million from investors to expand its services across Africa.

Bankole Oluwafemi, editor of the technology website TechCabal, says what makes Andela unique is its emphasis on giving workers the skills to expand Africa’s tech industry when they eventually strike out on their own.

“They’re kind of unique in that they’re one of the first, if not the first, to attack that problem at scale, the problem of education,” Oluwafemi said.

Building talent

Andela’s Director of Operations Seni Sulyman says emphasis on building talent is one reason the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative backed the company.

“Each of them has a pinpoint that is real that they felt at some point in their lives that they want to go address once they’re done with all this experience,” Sulyman said of the company’s “fellows.” “And I think that is the kind of passion and the kind of force that will change this continent.”

Every three months, Andela hires fellows to work at its offices in Nairobi and Lagos. The process is highly selective. Sulyman says the company usually gets between 3,000 and 5,000 applicants, and takes about 12.

New skills

Andela fellows work on projects at the company’s office on June 30, 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria. (Photo: Chris Stein for VOA)

Those that come on board are taught programing languages and other skills they need to work on projects remotely for Andela’s clients, most of which are in the United States.

With the newly raised $24 million, the company plans to expand its recruiting pipeline, find more clients and potentially open in a third African country.

“It seems like a lot of money but there’s so many things we want to do that I’m sure we’ll figure out ways to spend it,” Sulyman said.

*VOA