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Andela CEO Jeremy Johnson & his team are training Africa's top talent to become the world's software engineers, bridging the gap between a high-growth population & the global need for technical expertise

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Show Notes:

01:17 - Jason explains Andela, which trains African software developers to work with startups and global companies. He welcomes Andela Co-Founder and CEO Jeremy Johnson. Jason summarizes Andela’s fundraising, and Jeremy explains why Africa was the obvious choice for the business.

04:54 - Jason asks about how Africa’s education infrastructure impacts developer preparedness. Jeremy notes that many great engineers are self-taught or learn on the job. This leads to a talk about the efficacy of coding bootcamps and the backgrounds of Andela developers. Andela generally trains its distributed workers for six to eight months.

11:51 - Jason thanks sponsor Squarespace. Visit squarespace.com and start a free trial. When you’re ready to purchase a website or domain, use the offer code “twist” to get 10 percent off.

13:51 - Jason and Jeremy speak about Andela’s relationship with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and why global companies turn to Andela: not as a charitable gesture, but because they need developers. They also discuss unfair assumptions people make about hiring from areas not known as tech hotspots.

19:56 - Jeremy and Jason discuss the benefits of hiring remote workers who have lower living expenses.

23:15 - Jason asks about how receptive local governments have been to Adela. Jeremy notes Andelea was founded by six people, three of which were from Africa. He says Andela doesn’t attempt to move the best and brightest to other parts of the world; they work remotely, in Africa.

25:59 - Jason asks about government stability in Africa and how it might or might not impact Andela. Jeremy says it varies country by country, but the largest are functioning democracies. He says the political response to Andela has been interest. Jeremy says Andela is a global country with roots in the US and Africa. Jeremy also covers the cities of operation.

28:55 - Jason thanks sponsor LinkedIn. Visit linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups to get $100 in ad credits.

30:45 - Jason and Jeremy talk about Africa’s population. Jeremy mentions that the continent has seven of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world. He says China is wisely investing in Africa, while the US is way behind. Jason notes nationalistic tendencies in the US and Europe and the significant role immigration has played in the success of America.

33:54 - Jason asks if African governments are now paying or offering incentives to Andela to come to their countries and cities because of the company’s positive impact. Jeremy says it wasn’t part of the company’s original plan, but yes: more than a dozen countries have reached out, hoping Andela would open an office there. He notes that work visas are a significant challenge. Rwanda is the most accommodating. He and Jason discuss the positive long-term effects of allowing talented workers to immigrate.

40:16 - Jason asks about the level of tech use in daily life in Africa. Jeremy says mobile money was the norm in Nairobi before it was the norm anywhere else. He says Kigali, Rwanda was one of the first fully 4G cities in the world. Many African countries skipped broadband all together (including the expensive infrastructure costs) and went straight to 4G.

42:30 - Jason thanks sponsor Good&Co. Visit good.co/vip and use the promo code “twist” for 35 percent off standard pricing, as well as a free shirt.

44:15 - Jason asks when we will see unicorns emerging from Africa and/or exporting culture and products to the US. Jeremy says it’s already starting to happen. He and Jason talk about African companies as investment opportunities, and how apparent sleeper cities can turn out global companies and become tech hot spots.

50:16 - Jason asks about the potential business challenges of language barriers in Africa. Jeremy says localization is a challenge in Africa but it’s largely due to cultural differences: English is the most common individual language in Africa. He agrees with the idea that language has been a barrier to Latin American companies breaking out. Andela’s programs are English.

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