The Rise of Software Developers in Africa's Tech Hotspots
Are Government Support, Global Investments, and Startup Culture Paving the Way for the Continent's Digital Future?
🌟Good morning, entrepreneurs & tech enthusiasts!
If you’re looking for the next Silicon Valley, you might want to look at Africa. The continent is home to a growing number of software developers who are solving problems with code. But don’t expect to find them evenly distributed across the 54 countries. There are four hotspots that you need to know: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya.
According to the Africa Developer Report by Google, there were 716,000 professional software developers in Africa by the end of 2021, a 3.8% increase from the previous year. That may sound impressive, but it’s actually quite low compared to other regions when you put into consideration Africa’s 1.4 billion population.
For context, the global developer population is projected to reach 28.7 million by 2024. Thirty-six percent of developers come from Asia, thanks to China and India as they individually have 7 million and 5.8 million developers, respectively. Thirty percent of developers come from the Americas, and the remaining thirty-nine percent is shared between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The interest in writing this particular post is to talk about Africa’s developers and the problems they are working on.
One thing is certain: if you are a technologist, you want to find yourself in one of these four African countries: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya. It’s not so hard to figure out why. A good number of developers are building startups, and 50 percent of these developers are found in these 4 countries. The growth in the number of developers is a testament to the booming tech startup ecosystem in Africa. These are the places where you can find 16-year-olds learning to code, hoping to land a job in a startup or launch their own. And they have plenty of ideas to work on, from fintech to e-commerce to health care.
Unlike conventional, well-established organizations, startups are often the first businesses willing to hire junior developers, providing critical on-the-job training, especially in emerging technologies and markets. Today, four out of every ten African software developers work for at least one company based outside of the continent, usually a startup.
The motivation for software developers in Africa to work in startups can be attributed to several factors. I remember when I was about to go for my internship as part of my college requirements for a concentration in Software Engineering; I remember making it a point that I needed to intern at a startup, and I had several reasons for why I wanted that. Working for startups, particularly lately, has come with great perks.
We are living through times of rapid digitization, and Africa, which often finds itself lagging behind in innovation, is forced to move with the times. The growing digital economy has created a need for local businesses to transition online, and this is happening right across the continent. There is a boosted need for web developers, mobile app developers, data analysts, etc.
In addition, in 2021 Africa saw record investments made in startups. Over $4 billion was raised in startup financing, a figure that is 2.5 times higher than the previous year’s record. This success has allowed startup ecosystems to grow faster than it’s ever happened in Africa, a surge in digital transformation that can be credited to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, the perception or should I say the practice in startups is often a dynamic and innovative work environment, curated to attract the brightest and best and have them feel their needs are valuable. The startup culture is a selling point that draws talent. The startup culture provides opportunities to work on cutting-edge technologies and solve unique problems.
I have always been of the belief that if one wants to learn hard technical skills, they should immerse themselves in a startup. Startups throw developers out of their comfort zone. In a startup environment, everyone is pushed hard on deliverables and on the need to move fast and fail fast so iterations are even faster. This is also why startups are often willing to hire junior developers, providing critical on-the-job training. This turns out to be a significant draw, particularly for developers early in their careers.
What of those 4 countries?
The answer to the question of why 50 percent of developers are concentrated in only four countries is an intriguing one at first, but when you look deeper into those environments, you get to understand why.
Collectively, the “big four” as they are often referred to have done several things “right” that have made them the hub for creators of software in the continent. These countries have several universities and technical schools that are among the best in the world, which turn out a steady stream of skilled developers. Here are some more factors that make the big four stand out:
There is a thriving startup culture in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya. The kind of culture that has attracted Silicon Valley royalty.
The government helps businesses, leading to a thriving software development industry.
The demand for tech solutions and digital transformation across businesses has spurred the rise of the IT job market in these countries.
Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cairo, Lagos, Cape Town, and Durban have thriving IT hubs and startup scenes.
There are many factors driving the demand for software developers, including competition to create new applications for mobile devices, the needs of the health and insurance industries for innovative software to manage patient care, and concerns over threats to computer security that require investment in security software.
Competitive salaries for software developers in these countries.
Presence of big tech companies, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
What about the future, what should we expect?
We are living in a defining moment in time, with digitization and AI greatly influencing how we make a living, do business, how we spend our time and where we invest our resources. Given this, the number of software developers in Africa will continue to rise steadily, as the demand for solutions to various problems will not diminish anytime soon. Africa will certainly see many more developers entering the job market in the near future.
The big 4 will continue to dominate the continent, and the scope and complexity of problems they work on will expand, attracting more startup funding. However, they will face competition from other emerging countries. Looking ahead, countries such as Rwanda and Morocco will be formidable forces to be reckoned with. Many African countries are trying to craft well-intentioned policies to create environments that will foster a growth spurt of startups.
Despite the dangers of AI and the increased risks of unemployment, the future looks bright for Africa’s brightest and best problem solvers who use code as their canvas.
Stay caffeinated and entrepreneurial, my friends,
>>> Google Jr