🚀 Dem Investors and Operators Wey Wan Upgrade Africa Workforce Skills 💼🌍🎓
One company, Talstack, 🏢 jus dey try follow di same waka of Platzi for Latin America 🌎 and UpGrad for Asia 🌏 to create correct content wey go improve di skills of workers for Africa 🌍. Na one in three tech jobs 💻 na im skilled labor dey fill globally 🌐, and World Economic Forum (WEF) sef talk say dis na one of di biggest fear 😰 of global business ogas.
Pass half of di organizations wey these ogas dey manage, for one survey 📊, talk say dem don lose competitive advantage 📉 because dem no see di right talent 👨💻. Di bad news be say di situation fit no better for these companies 🏭 for di coming years, as WEF dey project say 77% of di 150 million new jobs wey dem go create by 2030 go need digital skills 💻, and e fit be say our young people 👧👦 no dey ready to fill dem.
For Africa, hundreds of millions of youths dey expected to join di workforce for di continent for di next decade 📈. Over 200 million jobs go need digital skills 🖥️ for sub-Saharan Africa, na so International Finance Corporation talk 🏦. But di wahala with di talent shortage for Africa, unlike di rest of di world, be say while di barrier to gain these digital skills, like di digital divide 💻 and no equal access to correct education 🏫, dey visible, wetin people no dey see too much na di need to upgrade those wey don already get digital skills.
Di wahala to upgrade employees 👩💼👨💼 (from soft skills like how to talk well 👄, make decision and solve problem 🧩 to hard skills wey show technical knowledge 💡 and foundational skills like teamwork 🤝) na something wey plenty ogas, managers and HR operators for small to big African enterprises don dey face for several years. And na di same wahala wey Seni Sulyman and Kayode Oyewole, both investors and operators, don hear founders dey complain about well well.
Few years back, Sulyman bin be vice president of Global Operations for Andela, where im help dem expand di company all over Africa and get teams for U.S 🇺🇸. With ten years of experience working for Andela, some big companies for U.S., and as angel investor 👼 (including as venture partner at Ventures Platform), Sulyman understand well well di role wey deliberate growth and development play to improve tech talent.
Oyewole sef na the same thing. As partner for Ventures Platform, a $46 million fund 💰 where im don support plenty of Africa most big startups — and as operator before Ventures Platform, Oyewole know di wahala wey founders and senior leaders dey face when dem dey try make their team ability meet new needs.
“We bin dey independently dey work on overlapping ideas 💡 for dis area when Kola Aina (founding partner, Ventures Platform) introduce us to each other to discuss,” na so Oyewole talk for interview with TechCrunch 🗞️. “We bin dey talk well well for weeks and we quickly realize say we share the strong belief say to invest in upgrading talent to scale companies regionally or globally, with di final aim to create more jobs and economic output, na di biggest opportunity for Africa for the next three decades 🏦🌍.”
These investors-cum-operators-cum-founders come leave their work to build Talstack, na all-in-one platform wey dey enable businesses to upgrade their employees with tools to check competence and gap, content, courses and insight from well-known professionals and entrepreneurs for Africa 🛠️.
Normally, most African businesses dey use training agencies when dem wan upgrade their employees. But, dis one dey limit their access to specific and correct training 🎓.
NOW IN ENGLISH
🚀 Investors and Operators Aim to Upgrade Africa’s Workforce Skills 💼🌍🎓
One company, Talstack, 🏢 is following the lead of Latin America’s Platzi 🌎 and Asia’s UpGrad 🌏 to create top-notch content that enhances the skills of Africa’s workforce 🌍. It is estimated that one in three tech jobs 💻 is filled by skilled labor globally 🌐, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) has identified this as a significant concern 😰 among global business leaders.
More than half of the organizations these leaders manage, according to a survey 📊, report losing their competitive edge 📉 due to a lack of the right talent 👨💻. Unfortunately, this situation may not improve for these companies 🏭 in the coming years, as the WEF projects that 77% of the 150 million new jobs to be created by 2030 will require digital skills 💻, and it seems our young people 👧👦 might not be prepared to fill these roles.
In Africa, hundreds of millions of young people are expected to join the continent’s workforce in the next decade 📈. The International Finance Corporation has stated that over 200 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills 🖥️ 🏦. However, the talent shortage issue in Africa, unlike the rest of the world, lies not only in the visible barriers to acquiring digital skills such as the digital divide 💻 and unequal access to quality education 🏫, but also in the less visible need to upgrade the skills of those already possessing digital skills.
The challenge to upskill employees 👩💼👨💼 (from soft skills like communication 👄, decision making, and problem solving 🧩 to hard skills demonstrating technical knowledge 💡 and foundational skills like teamwork 🤝) is a concern that many business owners, managers, and HR operators in African enterprises, large and small, have been facing for several years. It’s the same problem that Seni Sulyman and Kayode Oyewole, both investors and operators, have often heard founders complain about.
A few years ago, Sulyman was the vice president of Global Operations at Andela, where he helped the company expand across Africa and establish teams in the U.S 🇺🇸. With ten years of experience at Andela, various large U.S. companies, and as an angel investor 👼 (including as a venture partner at Ventures Platform), Sulyman fully understands the role of intentional growth and development in enhancing tech talent.
Oyewole has a similar background. As a partner at Ventures Platform, a $46 million fund 💰 where he supported many of Africa’s most successful startups — and as an operator before Ventures Platform, Oyewole knows the struggles founders and senior leaders face when trying to meet the evolving needs of their teams.
“We were independently working on overlapping ideas 💡 in this area when Kola Aina (founding partner, Ventures Platform) introduced us to each other for a discussion,” Oyewole said in an interview with TechCrunch 🗞️. “We had many conversations over the weeks and quickly realized that we shared the strong belief that investing in talent upskilling to scale companies regionally or globally, with the ultimate goal of creating more jobs and economic output, is the biggest opportunity for Africa in the next three decades 🏦🌍.”
These investor-operator-founders left their roles to build Talstack, an all-in-one platform enabling businesses to upskill their employees with tools to assess competencies and gaps, content, courses, and insights from renowned African professionals and entrepreneurs 🛠️.
Normally, most African businesses rely on training agencies when they want to upskill their employees. However, this approach limits their access to specific and accurate training 🎓.
