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Andela, a tech start-up that provides companies with access to the top software developers in Africa, with campuses in Lagos and Nairobi, has snagged a $24 million investment from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative created by Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.
According to Andela, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is leading a $24 million Series B funding round in the company with participation from Alphabet’s Google Ventures.
The funds will be used to expand to a third African country by the end of 2016 said the company which has nearly 200 engineers currently employed by its Nigerian and Kenya offices.
Mark Zurckerberg said in a statement “We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Andela’s mission is to close that gap.
“Companies get access to greater developers, and developers in Africa get the opportunity to use their skills and support their communities.”
The start-up operates a four-year program with the goal to produce world-class developers. It begins with a six months crash course in programming skills and ends with a three and half year programme in full-time remote apprenticeship with American tech companies. The tech companies pay Andela, which in turn pays its fellows an above-average local wage (for a developer) during the duration of the program.
Jeremy Johnson, CEO of Andela noted, “41 percent of developers in the US are distributed or work from home in some form (at least one day a week).” The revolution is already happening, and Andela wants to make sure Africa is part of it as well, he said.
