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INDUSTRY, TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCTS AND INNOVATION

Demand for African developers at an all-time high

oogle launched the “Africa Developer Ecosystem Report 2021” demonstrating groups reach over 200,000 community
that, despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, the continent’s members in 40 of the 48 countries in the
Gdeveloper ecosystem is on the rise. This is according to the findings of a study Sub-Saharan African region.
conducted across 16 Sub-Saharan African countries, through fielded and analysed “Africa Developer Ecosystem Report
surveys of software developers, as well as interviews with local experts. 2021” is the second in a series of
According to the report, demand for African developers reached a record high in studies on the state of the continent’s
2021 against the backdrop of a global economic crisis and the impact of the pandemic. Internet economy. The first, published
With increased (+22%) use of the internet among small and medium businesses (SMBs) in conjunction with the International
on the continent, the need for web development services also increased, alongside Finance Corporation (IFC), found
higher demand for remote development work (38% of African developers work for at that Africa’s Internet economy has
least one company based outside of the continent). This is evidenced by the magnitude the potential to reach 5.2% of gross
of growth in Nigeria’s professional developer population which added an estimated domestic product (GDP) by 2025,
5,000 new professional developers to its pool in 2021. contributing nearly $180 billion to
“While Africa’s tech innovation sector is making great strides, global tech companies, Africa’s economy. The projected
educators and governments can do more to ensure that the industry becomes a strategic potential contribution could reach $712
economic pillar. At Google, we are intent on further igniting training and support for this billion by 2050.
community, by bridging the existing developer skills gap and concentrating our efforts in “In order to reach this potential, we
upskilling female developers who face pointed challenges,” says Nitin Gajria Managing have to provide better access to high-
Director, Google in Africa quality, world-class skilling on mobile
Following a series of initiatives (including developer advocacy, start-up acceleration, technologies platforms, coupled with
training programmes, and global technical mentorship) that the company has increasing connectivity in Africa. Our
implemented over the last 10 years, Google aims to train 100 000 developers across effort to increase connectivity is focused
the continent by 2022. To date, the African continent is home to more than 150 active on infrastructure, devices, tools and
Google Developer Groups and 100 Developer Student Clubs in Africa. Combined, these product localisation,” adds Gajria.

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