Start-Up Bets on Tech Talent Pipeline From Africa
- 7 years ago
Start-Up Bets on Tech Talent Pipeline From Africa
CRE Venture Capital, based in Cape Town, South Africa, is the lead investor in the new $40 million round, the
largest venture round led by an African firm, said Pule Taukobong, a founding partner of CRE Venture Capital.
Jeremy Johnson, Andela’s chief executive, says the company offers “a very different model for unlocking human potential.”
The animating idea behind Andela, founded in 2014, is
that Africa has plenty of smart people, but that they too often lack the preparation for and pathways to gainful jobs — the missing ingredients that Andela can provide in the field of software development.
During a tour of Africa last year, Mr. Zuckerberg visited Andela’s Lagos office
and told the employees, “You are all part of something that’s really important.”
Spark Capital and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative were the lead investors in two earlier rounds of funding for Andela.
The Andela developers are young — the average age is under 25 — and 70 percent have computer science or engineering degrees.
CRE Venture Capital, based in Cape Town, South Africa, is the lead investor in the new $40 million round, the
largest venture round led by an African firm, said Pule Taukobong, a founding partner of CRE Venture Capital.
Jeremy Johnson, Andela’s chief executive, says the company offers “a very different model for unlocking human potential.”
The animating idea behind Andela, founded in 2014, is
that Africa has plenty of smart people, but that they too often lack the preparation for and pathways to gainful jobs — the missing ingredients that Andela can provide in the field of software development.
During a tour of Africa last year, Mr. Zuckerberg visited Andela’s Lagos office
and told the employees, “You are all part of something that’s really important.”
Spark Capital and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative were the lead investors in two earlier rounds of funding for Andela.
The Andela developers are young — the average age is under 25 — and 70 percent have computer science or engineering degrees.