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Research: Africa offers Attractive Tech Talent Sourcing Options

BY Ernesto Spruyt · 3 MIN READ

PRESS RELEASE

RESEARCH SHOWS: AFRICA OFFERS ATTRACTIVE TECH-TALENT SOURCING OPTIONS

NIGERIA AND EGYPT ARE AWAKENING SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT GIANTS

Kampala, February 2021 – The global sourcing of tech talent from African countries has taken flight in recent years. IT-staffing and software outsourcing company Tunga now published a research report about sourcing software developers from Africa. The report provides key data and insights about the current 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 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 reliable statistics on software development in Africa. Focusing on different aspects in the sector provides a complete overview of 17 countries with high potential, from Morocco to South Africa, and 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 harbor 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 of coding

Ernesto Spruyt, the 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 young African professionals. We see it as part of that mission to create a clearer picture of the African market for our target group and the broader public. Since digitalization is ongoing 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 Africa is an attractive option they did not explore before, especially for smaller companies in the EU and the US who cannot find quality talent at affordable prices. 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. Frontrunners such as Mauritius and South Africa are attractive and safe choices but a bit more expensive. The sleeping giants like Nigeria and Egypt, with their enormous populations 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 potentials 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 experienced African software developers from its talent pool quickly and affordably 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.

Editor’s note; not meant for publication

Feel free to use the link to the research in your publication: https://tunga.io/african-software-developers-best-countries-for-sourcing/
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https://tunga.io/press-room/
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