What is Holding Back the African Technology Industry and What We Can Do About It: A 7-Part Series

Introduction

After my last article where I talked about the different outcomes in the performance of the Kenyan and Nigerian tech industries, the question lingering on my mind has been: what will it take to build a thriving technology industry in Africa? This question is especially pertinent for Africa, a continent faced with a youth unemployment crisis and the high hopes pinned on technology as a solution. This seven-part series is an initial exploration into how we can foster a thriving African tech industry, providing both insight and actionable strategies. I invite you to join me on this journey and add your comments/ideas.

Part 1: Provide World-Class Training to the Builders at Scale & Connect Them To The Market

The Foundation: Training Builders and Instilling an Entrepreneurial Mindset

Any discussion on building a vibrant tech industry must start with the builders—the software developers, designers, problem solvers, customer relations experts, leaders, and business managers. These are the people responsible for identifying opportunities and leveraging technology to solve problems. To be effective, they need world-class training in design, software development, problem-solving, and business management. So how do we build the builders? What's holding back from having world class talent trained at scale in Africa?

Start by Fixing the Broken University Education Model

One of the biggest problems that holds us back is that public institutions such as universities are too slow to respond to the rapidly changing technology industry and the type of training that they are required to provide. It is common for computer science students to essentially self teach while attending an obsolete degree program just for the sake of getting a degree to please their parents. This is the same for a lot of the new approaches to design, problem solving and business management required to build a technology industry. Our public institutions of learning must rise to the challenge of training the talent required to take advantage of this massive opportunity.

So what models could work to provide world class training at scale while ensuring sustainability?

A Case Study: Andela’s Disruptive Model

I had an illuminating discussion with Iyinoluwa Aboyeji one of the co-founders of Andela, founded in Nigeria in 2014, which provides a fascinating case study in how education and training with a market focus could be made to work in Africa. Andela recognized Nigeria's untapped human resources and sought to develop world class software talent through rigorous training programs after selecting talented programmers through rigorous entrance exams. Upon completing these programs, graduates were placed at leading global companies such as Microsoft. Andela's revenue model involves earning a percentage of the salaries paid to these developers, an innovative approach that ensured that lack of fees was not an obstacle to opportunity as long as one had passed the entrance exams. Andela getting paid a percentage of salary aligned their incentives with that of the student which is to be able to make money after going through the training.

The Opportunity for Innovation in Public Universities

Traditional African public universities typically rely on an outdated model that requires students to pay fees upfront (which locks out a lot of brilliant but needy students), offers curricula that are disconnected from the current market needs as they have no immediate incentive and pressure to be market aligned, and provides little post-graduation support after issuing the degree certificate. Andela's success poses an important question: What if African public universities were incentivized and paid based on successful graduate placements in stead of taking upfront fees? This would create an alignment of interests between universities and their graduates, fostering curricula that are more market-relevant and encouraging greater collaboration between academic institutions and industries.

Conclusion: Time for an Overhaul

The current public education system isn't just failing students; it's failing the continent. To foster a thriving tech industry, Africa needs public universities to innovate, rethink their training models, and connect students with market opportunities at scale. The performance of universities should also be based on the percentage of students who are successfully placed within the job market as well as the amount of money that graduates earn afterwards.

The Andela example shines as a beacon of what is possible when education is tailored to meet industry demands, creating a win-win scenario for students, employers, and nations at large.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series, where we will delve into the very important but often overlooked role of ecosystem builders in creating an environment that enables the tech industry to take off. Thank you for joining me on this journey as we explore ways to build a thriving technology industry in Africa.