CAPE TOWN - Internet company Google on Monday launched the “Africa Developer Ecosystem Report 2021” which demonstrates that despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, the continent's developer ecosystem is on the rise.
The study was conducted across 16 sub-Saharan African countries, including fielded and analysed surveys of software developers as well as interviews with local experts.
According to the report, demand for African developers reached a record high in 2021 against the backdrop of a global economic crisis and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With increased use of the internet (up by 22%) among small and medium businesses (SMBs) on the continent, the need for web development services also increased alongside higher demand for remote development work (38% of African developers work for at least one company based outside the continent).
The company said this is evidenced by the magnitude of growth in Nigeria’s professional developer population, which added an estimated 5 000 new professional developers to its pool in 2021.
While Africa’s tech innovation sector is making great strides, global tech companies, educators and governments can do more to ensure that the industry becomes a strategic economic pillar, said Google.
“At Google, we are intent on further igniting training and support for this community by bridging the existing developer skills gap and concentrating our efforts in upskilling female developers who face pointed challenges,” said Nitin Gajria, managing director, Google in Africa.
Google aims to train 100 000 developers across the continent by 2022.
According to the company, to date, Africa is home to more than 150 active Google Developer Groups and 100 Developer Student Clubs in Africa.
The “Africa Developer Ecosystem Report 2021” is the second in a series of studies on the state of the continent’s internet economy.
The first, published in conjunction with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), found that Africa’s internet economy has the potential to reach 5.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, contributing nearly $180 billion to Africa’s economy. The projected potential contribution could reach $712bn by 2050.
“In order to reach this potential, we have to provide better access to high-quality, world-class skilling on mobile technologies platforms coupled with increasing connectivity in Africa. Our effort to increase connectivity is focused on infrastructure, devices, tools and product localisation,” said Gajria.
Despite a contracting economy, the pool of professional developers increased by 3.8% to make up 0.4% of the continent’s non-agricultural workforce. Salaries and compensation also rose, and more developers secured full-time jobs.
African start-ups raised more than $4 billion in 2021, two and a half times more than in 2020, with fintech start-ups making up over half of this funding.
The shift to remote work also created more employment opportunities across time zones and continents for African developers while lifting the pay for senior talent. As a result, international companies are now recruiting African developers at record rates, showed the report.
Learners, junior developers and under-represented groups, including women, need more support. Without access to in-person education — or affordable, reliable internet access and at-home equipment — they struggled to make gains last year. This can be seen in how the gender gap between male developers and female developers widened: there are 2.5% fewer women developers in the workforce than there were in 2020.
Educators, tech companies and governments can help developers succeed by improving internet access, education and business support, said the company.
Boot camps and certifications run as part of formal and informal education are working to bridge the vocational training gap between traditional education and employment.
Nigeria is a striking example of the symbiotic relationship between digital transformation and developer growth in Africa. The developer ecosystem in Nigeria is thriving thanks to strong demand for developer talent, significant support from big tech, and start-ups raising the largest total amount of funding on the continent in 2021.
Google said that as countries such as Nigeria continue to transform, they will unlock more opportunities for developers, who in turn grow the economy.
IOL