Andela

Photo © Andela
Program Type Medium of Delivery Program Duration Annual Participants
Fellowship In-person, on-the-job 4 years (6 months of 1,000+ (500 training;
training training +3.5 years of 500+employment)
employment)

Organization Type Year Established Average Fees per Number of Alumni

For-profit 2014 Participant ~20 (have completed 4
No fees; fellows earn a years of the program)
salary

Geographic Coverage
On-ground presence in Nigeria, Kenya
and Uganda, with adminisrative
offices in the United States
 Appendix C: Case Studies | Andela

COMPANY OVERVIEW Key Innovations

Andela is an organization that cultivates IT talent in Andela is characterized by two features:

Africa and provides leading global technology
1. Employment-focused Program Provision: training
companies with access to a high-skilled resource pool.
includes project-based, on-the job learning for six months
Andela software engineers participate in a coding boot
with Andela’s internal operations teams. For the
camp after which they work remotely from Andela’s
remaining 3.5 years, participants work with one of
tech campuses across Africa. IFC is currently
Andela’s partner companies. By frontloading the program
supporting Andela as an equity investor.
training, Andela ensures that it has a significant pipeline
For more information, visit: https://andela.com/ of developers to offer its employer partners, who are
often looking to hire developers for long-term projects.

Mission Statement 2. Self-sufficient Model: the model is linked directly to

employer needs, ensuring continued relevance and
To advance human potential in Africa by investing in talent
funding for the training program. Large brand-name
and ensuring that participants are job ready, while also
employers also attract more applicants to the program.
addressing the global digital skills-shortage faced by
employers.
Program Overview

Andela is a highly competitive program that trains and

employs software developers to power technology teams
and businesses across the globe. It aims to build a bridge
“You must join a between talent and opportunity. The program provides

community. It may students with six months of intensive on-the-job training,

followed by 3.5 years of remote employment for partner
be good to work companies, where they work from one of four Andela office
alone, but it is much spaces in Africa. This is referred to as “distributed

better to work in a employment,” with Andela taking on the role of the

distributor. Andela, an IFC investee company, also is backed
team. Andela by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Google Ventures, and
provided mentors to Spark Capital.

support me all along

Program History
the process”
— Andela fellow Christina Sass, Jeremy Johnson, Ian Carnevale, Nadayar
Enegesi, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, and Brice Nkengsa founded
Andela in 2014. They recognized the shortage of technology
talent in the United States and saw an opportunity in Africa,
where they had worked with and observed talented
individuals.
Types of Digital Skills Imparted

The program covers advanced technical skills such as

programming and application/software development,
including full stack development. The coding basics (Python
or Java) are self-taught using Andela’s learning resources
during the selection process. It also teaches work ethics and
team-related skills such as communication, professionalism,
and integration.

Business Model

Andela’s business model is designed to sustain itself and

drive scalability. Employer partners, typically based in the
United States, pay Andela to provide vetted, talented, and
fully trained software developers. This subsidizes the full cost

Photo © Andela
of the fellowship. Andela held a Series C funding round in
2017 that brought its total funding to over $80 million. It
held a Series D funding round providing $100 million in 2019,
led by new investor Generation Investment Management.
2. Demand-supply Gap in U.S. Market: There are five
PARTICIPANT SOURCING AND open jobs for every one software developer in the United
SELECTION States, and most companies say that finding qualified
talent poses a major challenge. The recruitment process
Target Segment and Pipeline Development for these companies often takes two months or more and
is costly for each hired developer. Andela hopes to address
Andela targets talented individuals who have the potential this demand and supply gap by helping largely U.S.
to be leaders in the technology sector. Applications are open companies hire talented, vetted employees from Africa.
to anyone over 18 years old and willing to commit to Andela
for four years. About 80 percent of participants have 3. Key Value Proposition: Participants find the program
previously completed a four-year degree in computer valuable because it is a fully paid, on-the-job education
science or engineering and are around 26 years old. Andela that will advance their career. For the first six months,
has received over 100,000 applications since 2014. fellows go through an immersion program and receive a
minimal salary in addition to a MacBook, subsidized
Rationale for Targeting this Segment: housing, and two meals a day. The program also offers
significant built-in work experience with top-tier
1. Untapped Talent: Africa has a large, fast-growing youth
technology companies across the world. When fellows
population. Andela believes African youth lack the
are working for these employers, they receive a
opportunities and resources needed to meet their
competitive salary. Fellows work in well-equipped Andela
potential in the technology sector. “Brilliance is evenly
offices based in Lagos, Nairobi, Kampala, or Kigali and
distributed across the world, but opportunities are not,” is
have access to ongoing mentorship from senior engineers
a popular company refrain. The program seeks to bridge
that Andela hires.
this opportunity gap.
 Appendix C: Case Studies | Andela

4. Key Methods to Find Applicants: Andela has now of its regions. It has set up all female recruitment cycles to
developed a strong reputation, which has allowed it to encourage women to apply. When Andela notices a lack of
scale up. The organization also uses social media to reach female applicants or too few progressing through technical
applicants and in 2017 launched a free online learning rounds, the company organizes “level-up” programs and
platform, Andela Learning Community. This platform workshops for them. This is done in partnership with
serves as Andela’s “scouting” medium, as it allows the corporations such as Microsoft.
company to track learner progress over time by providing
a wealth of data points to identify potential participants PROGRAM EXPERIENCE
who are likely to perform well in the program.

Program Training and Approach

Application and Selection
Fellows undergo intensive, master’s level, project-based
Applicants fill out an online application and then go through training during the first six-month period. Then they spend
a rigorous selection process. The program is extremely 3.5 years employed at Andela as remote software developers
competitive and has a selection rate of 0.7 percent. The for global technology companies.
selection process takes roughly four months from
application to program start. Program Approach

Students begin by filling out a free application and Program cohorts comprise 20 to 30 people on average, with
personality test online. Then they gain access to Andela’s an increasing number every year. Andela fellows go through
home study curriculum, which covers software development four levels as a part of a long-term, well-defined learning
and team skills. This helps them prepare for the next trajectory. The program tracks over 1,000 data points that
technical assessment round. All applicants take that measure the progress of the developers.
assessment, which is based on either Python or JavaScript.
The first six months are spent exclusively on project-based
The assessment includes virtual lab assignments with
learning. Fellows work on product teams at Andela’s offices
test-driven development code to assess the applicant’s
writing code and incorporating feedback from senior
mastery of Andela’s open-source curriculum.
engineers. This training model mimics the process of
Shortlisted candidates are invited to interview with a panel learning on the job; the “instructors” are senior colleagues.
of Andela staff members and developers at an Andela office. Fellows are expected to begin the program with a firm
Interviewers gauge the applicant’s commitment and understanding of basic technical skills, which they would
alignment to Andela’s values. Applicants who pass the have developed during the rigorous selection process.
interview are invited to participate in a two-week simulation Instructors teach soft skills during brief sessions throughout
led by senior Andela developers. This comprises one week of the four years.
home-based self-learning and one week of product
After the six-month training period, the fellows are staffed
development at an Andela campus. Applicants are evaluated
as full-time distributed team members at one of Andela’s
for their alignment to Andela’s core values (excellence,
offices. Within a month of their match with a partner
passion, integrity, and collaboration), and ability to work
company, fellows are sent to the firm’s headquarters for two
independently and with a team.
weeks. This is most often in the U.S. and allows fellows to
build strong relationships with the team, despite the remote
Key Challenges and Solutions
nature of their work. Groups of three to four fellows often
Andela is committed to ensuring a strong representation of are hired as a team by partner employers. Andela fellows
women and aims to have around 30 percent women in each usually work for an employer for at least a year. This means
 Photo © Andela
that they often have the opportunity to work with multiple individuals can use to prepare for their Andela applications
employers over the course of four years. or to gain digital skills. Content on the platform is sourced
from Andela’s partners, including Google, Udacity, and
Compensation is linked to level and does not vary depending
Microsoft. The initiative has attracted 23,000 learners, and
on the client organization with whom fellows are working.
Andela has seen course completion rates reach five times
Andela pays its developers in line with market standards.
higher than the average for global massive open online
Retention Approach courses.

Andela has a high retention rate with little attrition. The Andela places a strong focus on building team skills and
fellows have an official contract with the organization for communication during its program. Some offices conduct
the first two years. They are expected to stay through the daily team-building activities to engage developers, while
next two years but are not legally bound to do so. Learning others hold frequent workshops. Their approach is driven by
tends to plateau by that point, although fellows sometimes data that has identified emotional quotient as important as
choose to stay because of Andela’s competitive employment intellectual quotient for successful placement.
opportunities.
PROGRAM IMPACT
Instructors
Learning Goals
Andela does not have traditional instructors. It aims to teach
its developers on the job. Andela fellows are grouped in Andela seeks to develop software developers who are highly
“pods” with senior developers for support. Andela also has a employable by the end of the four years. The program
learning management system that tracks participants’ focuses on building technical and soft skills and has over
progress and helps customize their professional 1,100 engineers on staff.
development plan. Senior developers are experts in the field
The company uses six attributes to evaluate the
of software engineering with more than five years of
performance of developers in a company environment. The
experience and are recruited from top tech firms in Africa
parameters by which they are judged depend on their level
and around the world.
and determines their growth in the organization:

Program Evolution 1. Quality – Designing product architecture and delivering

complete products
Since its inception in 2014, Andela has added initiatives to
spur growth. The Andela Learning Community was launched
in early 2017 to create a talent pipeline. It provides free
learning resources and access to virtual mentorship that
 Appendix C: Case Studies | Andela

2. Quantity — Delivering entire systems of interrelated 2. Andela Alumni Network: The alumni network is built to
products against timeline provide graduates lifelong access to Andela and its
resources. The fellows are also encouraged to consult the
3. Initiative — Organizing meetings and managing project
alumni community for job opportunities.
team

4. Communication — Effectively understanding and Employer Perspectives

communicating client requirements
The Andela fellowship is considered equivalent to four years

5. Professionalism — Collaborating effectively with a team of employment experience at top tech companies around

to deliver the project the world. Participants develop mastery over specific
technology, such as JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, Android/iOS
6. Integration — Flexibility in coordinating with multiple application development. At the end of the four years, they
teams possess significant work experience and marketable skills for
employers in the technology sector.
Skills Developed:

1. Technical skills — Exclusive focus on software, full stack Impact

development
The organization has succeeded in creating a vast
2. Soft skills — Focus on team building and communication, community of employable software engineers. There are
built into curriculum over 1,000 Andela developers. Almost 500 of the developers
are working as full-time employees with their partner
Employment Process organizations. The remaining engineers are still engaged in
their first six months of training or are working on internal
After program completion, developers generally have three
engineering teams to develop Andela’s proprietary
opportunities:
technology.
1. Employment: developers become full-time software
More than 20 developers have completed four years with
engineers for a top global or local technology company
Andela and either stayed on as senior developers, started
2. Entrepreneurship: some participants start their own their own businesses, or joined other technology firms as
business or join entrepreneurial ventures developers. Andela expects to double its developer count by
the end of 2019. Over the next four years, Andela plans to
3. Employment with Andela: others return to Andela in create high-end technology jobs with supporting staff
positions as senior developers, engineering team leads, or members across various countries, improve its training
learning facilitators program to provide better employment prospects, and reach
a larger community through its online learning center.
Employment Oriented Initiatives

1. Entrepreneurship Center: The center serves as a local Developer Perspectives

technology incubator, providing technology entrepreneurs
Andela developers say the key drivers of its effectiveness are
with the guidance to brainstorm, network, build
the company’s inclusive nature, on-project training, and
prototypes, and set up operations. This initiative is
exposure gained by working for the top companies of the
expected to result in the creation of new and lasting local
world.
businesses.
OPERATIONS
KEY PEOPLE

Resources
Christina Sass
Andela has a staff of over 1,700, with more than 1,100 software engineers President and
(fellows from the program, completing their four years of employment at Co-founder, Andela
Andela). As the Chief
Operating Officer,
Andela hires individuals who believe in its mission statement and values:
Christina helps guide Andela’s
1. Excellence: lifelong learners who strive for mastery of our craft mission and strategy to build the
next generation of technology
2. Passion: people who aspire to change the world and act accordingly
leaders in Africa. Prior Andela,
3. Integrity: individuals guided by strong moral principles Christina directed the Program
department of the Clinton Global
4. Collaboration: individuals who build relationships to cooperate and Initiative and advised the President
deliver projects and CEO of The MasterCard
Foundation. Christina also has
Path to Scalability experience in building education
and employment programs in
Andela plans to increase its outreach to 100,000 developers in Africa by
China, Gaza and the West Bank,
2024. It aims to leverage public-private partnerships to grow quickly in new
Kenya, and Nigeria.
regions. The pan-African technology campus at Kigali, for example, was
launched in partnership with a government organization that fundraises Jeremy Johnson
with international donors. The company aims to repeat this model in other Co-founder and Chief
locations. Executive Officer,
Andela
Africa’s increasing youth population, unlike much of the world, has helped
Jeremy drives the
Andela grow. The company believes a similar model can be replicated in
overall strategy and operations of
regions with sizable youth populations that lack adequate access to digital
Andela, and has been instrumental
skills training.
in shaping the organization into
one of the most coveted technical
institutes. Prior to co-founding

PROGRAM KEY MILESTONES & TIMELINE Andela, Jeremy co-founded 2U, a

company listed on the NASDAQ
2014 2015 2016 2017 stock exchange.

Andela was Andela went Andela went Andela went

founded and its first through the Series through Series B through Series C
cohort of fellows A funding round funding round funding round and
were accepted in and launched and launched launched a
Nigeria. operations in operations in pan-African hub in
Kenya. Uganda. Kigali.