Andela has announced the launch of a pan-African technology hub in Kigali, Rwanda.
Andela specializes in training software developers and this will be the company’s fourth African market.
As part of its expansion plans, the company is partnering with the Government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), a governmental body responsible for transforming the country into a dynamic global hub for business, investment, and innovation.
The choice for Kigali is strategic. No way they can gamble on this. Kigali has been recognized as a leader in technological excellence on the African continent. In addition, Kigali boasts a strong infrastructure and will also ensure ease of access for developers across the continent.
The RDB will support Andela’s efforts in making the pan-African technology hub a success through creating a strong workforce and supporting the development of talent in Rwanda and other Africans. This will reinforce Andela’s mission of investing in Africa’s most promising talent and build the continent’s future technology leaders. This will add to the hundreds of Andela developers based in the company’s existing centers in Lagos, Nairobi, and Kampala.
Speaking on the launch, Andela co-founder and CEO Jeremy Johnson expressed joy on the newfound partnership with the Government of Rwanda. She said that the mission of the Rwandan government is closely aligned with Andela’s particularly on growing and sustaining an elite tech workforce in Africa. She added that Kigali is a strategic location that eases travel to-and-from other African countries in addition to possessing a modern and connected infrastructure necessary for global collaboration with Andela workforce.
Since launching operations in Nigeria in 2014, the company has hired and developed hundreds of software engineers in Africa. In turn, these engineers have collectively worked directly with technology teams of over 150 global companies, including GitHub.
An interesting thing about Andela is that it is continually ensuring that opportunities are evenly distributed irrespective of gender, culture or nationality. This is a ray of hope especially given the worrying and ever-increasing gender gap in the tech industry.
Over the years, Andela has been recognized for its achievements and most recently, the company received recognition as the Best Place to Work awards for both its Lagos and Nairobi offices. The award termed Andela as a workplace that observes diversity and inclusion, possesses admirable office culture, has a dynamic working environment, and offers opportunities for career advancement.
Currently, the company is processing applications for the Fellowship program Cycle 32. The applications closed on the July 20th but will resume on November. Other activities include the launch of its Kigali tech campus in December of 2018. In August, the company is also expected to open applications for the Andela Learning Community (ALC), a program that provides free resources and mentorship to aspiring technologists, in Rwanda and Tanzania.
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