Although its technology landscape is less well-known than that of the United States and Western Europe, Africa has surprisingly become, over the past decade, one of the top destinations for finding talented developers for technology companies. Central and Eastern Europe (CEEC).
Among them is Croatian unicorn and global communications service provider Infobip, which has been a key player in Africa for over a decade. With a solid presence in nine African countries, the Croatian company has exploited the potential of the African developer ecosystem in recent years.
“The developer ecosystem in Africa is growing due to the great need for developers. A significant number of developers are hired by large technology companies. Additionally, many developers in Africa are creating their own startups as opportunities to invest and grow their businesses have increased over the past two years,” Infobip Technology Community Manager Marijan Cipcic told The Recursive.
Additionally, Europe’s need for software developers exceeds local supply, leading to increased demand for technical experts in regions such as Africawhose young, tech-savvy population is poised to take up positions in global companies to meet this demand.
Beyond this alone, Infobip’s ties to the continent also run deeper, as their services have been used by major African companies over the past decade. “Infobip’s communications services are used by Africa’s largest telecommunications companies, banks, fintech companies and many other large technology-oriented companies,” adds Cipcic.
According to a report According to the Disrupt Africa team, 633 African startups have secured over $3.3 billion in investments in 2022, and total annual funding for African tech startups has increased by over 1,700% since 2015.
“We will see what the numbers are for this year, but this report speaks for itself on the growth of the technology ecosystem in Africa over the last few years. With the growth of investments in startups, the number of developers and the quality of their skills are also increasing,” Cipcic tells The Recursive.
Another report, 2021 Development ecosystem in Africa showed that 38 percent of Africa’s more than 700,000 developers work for at least one company headquartered outside of Africa. About 50 percent of them are concentrated in five key markets: Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.
The report also reveals that African developers are still very young, with junior developers making up a large part of its base. Many of them use a mix of formal and informal education to learn the necessary skills, with JavaScript, Java and C++ being the most in-demand programming languages.
When it comes to tapping local talent, one of the main approaches taken by the Croatian company is to engage and meet in person with local developers and startup communities.
“Since the creation of the Developer Experience department at Infobip a few years ago, our mission has been to become a global developer-centric company. To strengthen Infobip’s presence in Africa, since last year we have focused on engagements with local developers and startup communities as part of our Developer Experience (DevEx) initiatives globally. Over the past 12 months, we have hosted 15 in-person meetings in Lagos, Nairobi, Abidjan, Accra, Cairo, Kigali, Casablanca and Kampala. In some of these cities, we organized several events,” Cipcic tells The Recursive.
The potential of African technological ecosystems
A Google 2021 report also shows that the following countries have the highest concentration of software developers: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Ghana.
As the list shows, Nigeria is one of the top destinations for talented developers, with an ever-growing developer community. Fueled by growing demand for tech skills, the country produces 5,000 new developers each year, marking a significant expansion of its tech workforce.
With a strong presence in Nigeria, Infobip is confident that its initiatives will help to further develop and strengthen the continent’s developer and startup ecosystem.
Additionally, the Croatian company’s efforts go beyond simple meetings, as it has actively sought collaboration with organizations such as the Yabacon Africa Community in the Nigerian capital of Lagos, providing support to local developers and for technology enthusiasts.
Additionally, sponsorship of major events such as DataFestAfrica has also helped the company tap local talent. The company’s Developer Experience (DevEx) program in Africa was also recognized as the best regional developer relations program at the Devrelcon 2023 conference in London, as well as the Best Overall DevRel Program award for 2023.
“During our meetings, participants also have the opportunity to discover our Infobip Startup Tribe, which helps startups around the world grow. Our startup tribe grows after each meeting and we are happy that our technology can help local startups grow their businesses. So far, 45 startups from 17 countries in Africa have joined our Startup Tribe program,” adds Cipcic.
The company’s activities in Africa have also served as a bridge for Croatian companies wishing to enter the African market, with technology startups such as Oradian and venITure are already present on the market.
“Local developers and technology enthusiasts have the chance to meet, interact and hear from successful and inspiring speakers. The networking sessions at our meetups are also very important since participants meet and exchange valuable contacts and knowledge with each other,” says Cipcic.
As Richard Gardner, CEO of US technology company Modulus Global, points out, Africa’s rise in the tech world is attracting attention, and many other global tech companies will eventually seize the opportunity to exploit the vast talents of the continent’s developers.
e-Conomy Africa report continues watch that countries like Rwanda and Uganda have invested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs to prepare their workforce for the digital economy.
“We have seen countries like Ghana start to invest in technology, and these types of investments can pay dividends in the long term. It’s no surprise that more and more companies from Central and Eastern Europe are looking to Africa for talented developers. Gardner concludes.