The demand for African computer software developers reportedly skyrocketed in 2021 due to the global economic crisis, and of course, emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was revealed by a recent Google report.
In the Africa Developer Ecosystem report, data was gathered from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
In an interview with about 1,600 software developers across the continent, Google discovered that about 38% of African developers work for at least one company based outside the continent.
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The survey disclosed that, “Across the continent, the pool of professional developers increased by 3.8% year on year. The total number of developers in Africa is now about 716,000.”
In what may seem like a confirmation to the findings by Google’s recent research, highlighting the dynamic and growing market for the continent’s technical talent over the last two years equally showed that four out of every ten African software developers now work for at least one company based outside the continent, while five work for local start-ups.
A 22% rise in the use of the internet by small and medium-sized businesses in Africa, a record fundraising streak by local start-ups in 2021 and demand for remote tech workers in more mature markets are all factors attributed to the rising awareness of Africa’s software development talent.
Google opined that, “Increased global demand for remote tech talent, which was enhanced by the pandemic, created more remote employment opportunities for African developers.”
The report shows the number of African professional developers in the workforce defied economic contractions to increase by 3.8% or, 716,000 making up 0.4% of the continent’s non-agricultural workforce.
Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt lead the continent in software development talent. Nigeria led the continent in roiling out talent in this field, adding an estimated 5,000 new professional developers to its pool in 2021.
The country even has an online academy, known as Alt School Africa, which is attracting programming students from countries around the world by offering an elaborate curriculum in computer programming.
By early February, 2021, the digital campus had already received more than 8,000 applications from 19 countries for its software engineering program which commenced in April.
More African developers are getting full-time jobs due to both the rise in demand from local start-ups and the global demand for remote technical talent.
Morocco added 3,000 new professionals, while South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, and Tunisia added 2,000 each to their talent pool.
However, South Africa leads the continent in the total number of software developers, with 121,000 followed by Egypt and Nigeria tied, at 89,000 each.
Opportunities for Africa’s software developers are both local and global. African start-ups are responsible for hiring more than half of local developers, with foreign companies outside the continent hiring 38% of the remaining talent.
While Africa has a nascent developer ecosystem, these latest statistics suggest a climb for the continent’s top talent, those with strong programming skills in web and mobile apps development.
This competition seems to have had a positive effect on salaries and other forms of compensation.
Despite the increase in average developer pay in 2021 by 11%, junior developers saw a 9% pay decrease as a result of the oversupply of the junior ones coupled with the perceived lower competence levels.
Women developers faced more challenges than men, given their more junior positions and the lack of childcare support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Google report further stressed that, “The women are 12% less likely to have written their first line of code before turning 18 than male developers.”
However, educators, tech companies, and governments, as the report notes, can help developers succeed by improving internet access, education, business support and cloud tools.
Among all, governments at all levels in Nigeria, coupled with other African countries, are urged to come up with various training centres within their respective jurisdictions to enable prospective cum upcoming coders and software developers boost their skills, so they could compete favourably in the global markets.
Formidable industry ought to equally be created within the shores of any country that intends promoting the said expertise. This would ensure that those who are already equipped with the needed skills are readily engaged in the business to showcase their talents.
Institutions and organizations, such as the banking sector and law enforcement agencies, are enjoined to employ the services of software and web developers in their various establishments, rather than consulting outsiders when the need arises.
The above suggested practice would enable them to create and maintain sound security architecture within their firms’ day-to-day operations. It would also make the coding profession seem lucrative, thereby encouraging the teeming prospective developers.