Tech firm gets Sh10.13b funding from Mark Zuckerberg foundation

NAIROBI, KENYA: Talent development firm Andela has secured Sh10.13 billion ($100 million) from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg Foundation and partners to train more software developers in Africa.
 
The company building Africa’s top software developers for outsourcing globally, has announced the completion of a $100M Series D funding led by former US Vice President Al Gore’s firm  Generation Investment Management with participation from existing investors including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV, Spark Capital, and CRE Venture Capital.

This most recent financing brings Andela’s total venture funding to Sh18.24 billion ($180 million).

“Andela was founded in 2014 to connect Africa’s engineering talent with the demand for software developers worldwide,” says the firm, adding that in four years, Andela has assessed more than one hundred thousand applicants, hired one thousand software developers, and integrated them into hundreds of companies, such as Safaricom, Percolate, and InVision.
 
Further, it says with the funding, Andela will upgrade its technology platform to enable it identify, develop and match talent at scale.
 
“By doing so, Andela will provide its customers with the data they need to understand developer performance and better manage distributed teams,” it adds.
 
The company will also expand its presence across Africa to meet the global demand for high-quality engineering talent.
 
“It’s increasingly clear that the future of work will be distributed, in part due to the severe shortage of engineering talent,” says Jeremy Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Andela.