Africa offers attractive tech-talent sourcing options

The report provides key data and insights about the recent situation in the top-17 African countries in terms of the size of their developer pool: what is the salary level and the level of the English language proficiency; how is the business climate and the infrastructure for online technology; and which are the most popular software languages and frameworks on the continent.
 
Best places for IT-talent in Africa
The report Best countries for sourcing provides solid statistics on software development in Africa. By focusing on different aspects in the sector a complete overview is provided of 17 countries with high potential, from Morocco to South Africa, from Ivory Coast to Kenya. How many of the total of 690.000 African software developers live in one of these 17 countries? Which countries harbour the best tech-talents? Where is the tech-ecosystem growing fastest? Which countries have a stable business climate? What developer language do Africans mostly use? The research has been conducted by Tunga during the past two years and was published this week.
 
Specific knowledge on coding
Ernesto Spruyt, founder of Tunga, tells about the why of the research: "Tunga stands for unleashing talent; it is our mission to create attractive IT jobs for African young professionals. We see it as part of that mission to create a clearer picture of the African market for our target group, but also the broader public. Since digitalization is going on and the need for software developers continues to stay strong, we need to get Africa’s tech sector on everyone’s radar. We feel that especially for smaller companies in the EU and the US who cannot find quality talent at affordable prices, Africa is an attractive option they did not explore before. For example, our clients usually want to launch a new software product or prototype quickly. So once we know exactly where to search for specific knowledge, we can - within days - provide a solid match.” This is a unique selling point of Africa’s tech talent.
 
Frontrunners and sleeping giants
The research concludes with four different types of countries. There are frontrunners such as Mauritius and South Africa, which are attractive and safe choices but a  bit more expensive. The sleeping giants like Nigeria and Egypt with their enormous population and large tech talent pools, and high English proficiency. Salary levels are moderate. There are also promising outsiders like Ghana, Senegal, Uganda, Rwanda and Cameroon, with all different backgrounds, from languages spoken (French in Senegal) to business climate (Excellent in Rwanda). Late-bloomers such as Ethiopia and Tanzania have a lot of unlocked potential but are fairly new to this market. The research concludes that the tech-potential in Africa is largely undiscovered, although the potential is enormous. All popular skills and frameworks are available in the African talent pool. Tapping into that pool can be done through various approaches. This research provides insights to determine the right strategy.   
 
About Tunga
With offices in Uganda, Nigeria and The Netherlands and a network of over 400 software developers spread over Africa, Tunga successfully helped more than 175 companies - both start-ups and bigger corporates - with their IT staffing and software outsourcing. The Tunga coding-experts are smart, capable and professional, and through Tunga are seeking challenging jobs in an international setting. Tunga drives a change here by matching clients with the experienced African software developers from its talent pool in a quick and affordable manner and thus enables these experts to grow, be successful and take their spot in the international tech sector. Tunga was founded in 2015 as an initiative of social entrepreneur Ernesto Spruyt and the not-for-profit organization Butterfly Works.  For more information check  www.tunga.io.