- Andela is partnering with CNCF to train 20,000 Africans on cloud-native skills
- The training will commence next year and span two or three years
- Andela has played a critical role in connecting African tech talents with global opportunities
Andela, the global marketplace for technology talents, has partnered with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) to train 20,000 African technologists in cloud-native basics for free.
This is contained in a statement issued by the startup on Monday, November 18, where it noted that the initiative is in collaboration with Linux Foundation Education.
The statement added that the training, which will commence next year and span two or three years, is aimed at equipping participants with the skills required to excel in global technology roles, given the growing demand for cloud-native skills.
Cloud-native is the foundational principles, tools, and practices for designing, developing, and deploying applications in cloud computing environments.
Andela stated that participants at the training will have access to foundational cloud-native courses and be prepared for industry-recognised certifications, including the Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) and the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), which validates the ability to design, build, configure and expose cloud-native applications for Kubernetes and typically takes six to nine months to achieve.
The CEO of Andela, Carrol Chang, said the partnership is crucial given the abundant talent, skills, and young workforce in Africa. These are critical to bridging the continent’s tech talent shortage.
Chang stated, “We are excited to partner with CNCF to extend training and, ultimately, enhance job opportunities for African workers.
“The continent is emerging as one of the most important markets in the world. It has the fastest-growing population of developers, and its young workforce will be key to solving the tech talent shortage.
“Organisations are looking for talent with advanced skill sets like AI and cloud-native, and this particular skill set is a perfect addition to the Andela marketplace.”
The CTO at the CNCF, Chris Aniszczyk, noted that the programme will ensure that developers within their countries and globally while providing mutual benefits for workers and tech companies.
Aniszczyk stated, “This partnership showcases the global impact of CNCF’s education programmes. By standardising cloud native knowledge, developers across the globe can confidently work toward certifications that will enable them to land developer positions both within their own countries and globally.
“By partnering with Andela, which has a long history of training technologists in Africa, we see a great opportunity in providing our training to communities that may otherwise not have access. Together, we can create a win-win for companies that need workers and workers that need opportunities.”
Growing demand for remote tech talents
Since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in the global demand for remote tech talent, creating more employment opportunities for African developers.
According to Google’s Africa Developer Ecosystem Report 2021, 38 per cent of African software developers work for at least one company based outside the continent.
The growth underscores the need for training and certifications, which Andela and CNCF hope to achieve through their training.
Andela: Connecting African talents to global opportunities
Andela, founded in 2014, boosts diverse talents across 135 countries. The New York-based Nigerian startup connects African software engineering talent to global companies.
It started as a remote-engineering-as-a-service platform, training and hiring junior software developers across Africa, then placing them with global businesses as full-time distributed engineers but has since grown to become a talent marketplace for tech talents with or without prior Andela training or relationship.
Seven years after it was founded, Andela raised $200 million from investors in September 2021 to become one of Africa’s eight unicorns, increasing the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion at the time.
The 2021 round of fundraising was led by SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese tech investor, with participation from new investor Whale Rock and existing investors, including Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Spark Capital.
7 African AI startups founded by Nigerians
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution has brought about innovations and startups leveraging technology to address pressing human needs.
The African continent is not left behind in this wave of revolution. The continent boasts a handful of startups changing the world, most of which are founded by Nigerians or located in Nigeria, including these seven.
