The African tech ecosystem is blooming steadily. It has the “world’s youngest, fastest-growing, and urbanized workforce,”- according to the ‘The e-Conomy Africa 2020’ report by IFC (International Financial Corporation) and Google. In 2020, the continent boasted 700,000 African software developers. That number grew 3.8% to 716,000 in 2021, according to the Africa Developer Ecosystem report from Google and Accenture. 2022 provides a good opportunity for tech corporations and start-ups to source software development talent from Africa.
The guide below provides all the insights required to find the best countries for outsourcing software engineers. By the end of this article, you will develop a focused approach to hiring African software developers.
Access Africa's Best Talent
Access Africa's Best Talent
A deep-dive into the population of African software developers
Despite the increase in tech talent professionals in the African software development field, according to the report, the population of African software developers is not evenly distributed throughout the continent. Around 56% of total developers belong to “the Big Four” countries: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya. It is easy to infer the digital demographics of the region from these statistics. Factors like education, youth upskilling campaigns, and government policies account for the contribution of youth towards African software development.
In the case of African software developers, South Africa tops the chart with 121k developers. The country’s vibrant start-up culture generates a healthy pipeline of jobs. Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya also follow the same and enable the development of the tech ecosystem by sustaining stable socio-economic conditions.
How many software developers are there in Nigeria? Following are the number of African software developers in 2021 in 16 countries:
- South Africa: 121,000
- Egypt: 89,000
- Nigeria: 89,000
- Kenya: 60,000
- Morocco: 50,000
- Algeria: 29,000
- Tunisia: 23,000
- Cameroon: 21,000
- Ethiopia: 19,000
- Ghana: 18,000
- Tanzania: 15,000
- Uganda: 11,000
- Senegal: 10,000
- Côte d'Ivoire: 9,000
- Mozambique: 7,000
- Rwanda: 4,000
Other notable observations regarding African software developers are listed below:
Gender Diversity
Many multinational companies have policies regarding gender diversity. As a recruiter of an esteemed organization, analysis of Gender profile becomes a crucial step. Females account for 15% of total African software developers. The continent is slowly progressing on the path of gender equality as we see women like Jihan Abass, Founding and heading Lami, an insur-tech startup.
Age Profile
The bifurcation of African software developers is vivid. From a broader perspective, we can easily say that young professionals dominate the continent. Nearly 80% of the developers are younger than 35. To be specific, 47% of developers lie in the age bracket of 25 to 34 years.
Therefore, young, junior developers are abundant in Africa. Those aged between 18 to 24 years old constitute 33% of the total African software developers.
Seniority Level: How many software developers are there in Africa?
Start-ups in the African software development space have induced a pool of talent. 46% of junior developers have an experience of 0 to 3 years. Approximately 229,000 African software developers work for mid-seniority positions with experience of 4 to 6 years. The survey also found 157,000 senior developers with more than 7 years of experience. In a nutshell, we can conclude that start-ups can easily outsource software development professionals for both junior and mid-seniority (intermediate) positions.
Specialization Domain
Technology is a huge ocean with many specializations. Consequently, tech companies also have different needs based on the domain of their business. While writing the job description for a software engineer, a specialized domain is necessary.
When we look at the skill set of African software developers, web development and app development rank the highest. 25% of developers are proficient in cloud platforms and IoT (Internet of Things) development also. Due to the affordable pricing in Africa, companies seem to outsource software development for Android and Web development primarily.
Salary Figures of African software developers
After getting acquainted with the talent specifications, now comes the question of compensation. Since African software development is in the nascent stage, talent hiring is comparatively affordable.
As stated earlier, South Africa hosts the largest number of African software developers. Developers earn an average of R304,631 ($20,176.58) per year. According to African countries’ salary figures, it is evident that annual compensation is proportional to the nation’s developer population.
Higher developer population countries like South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, etc. have higher average pay. Contrary to this, countries with fewer developers have lower salary figures, e.g. Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana.
Which African country is best for sourcing African software developers?
Selection of the best African country to outsource software development professionals is a matter of preference. Some start-ups might prioritize cost-saving while companies with significant fit in the market might prefer more advanced, skilled talent.
We have provided a detailed overview of all aspects related to African software developers, from skill proficiency to salary figures. Some will have good infrastructure while others will provide a diverse talent population. As a recruiter, you need to frame the checklist according to the company’s needs and preferences.
Benefits of Sourcing African software developers
While winding up this informative article, we want to you pay attention to the several benefits of hiring African software developers:
Cost-Effective
The salary figures themselves; speak for the fact that outsourcing African developers is very affordable. Since there are more people at the junior level, the continent maintains a consistent flow of workforce.
Good Communication Skills
While working at a global level, good communication and language proficiency are major points to consider. Multilingual African software developers can elevate multicultural tech teams in any region.have a good track of decent communication skills. Additionally, cCountries with more developers like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria rank fairly on the EPI (English Proficiency Index). · Evolving Infrastructure African nations are keen to nurture their technology talent. Countries have significant infrastructure in terms of internet availability. These factors support the remote work culture and paves the way for further growth of African software development talent.