Africa’s App developers looking to solve 100,000 problems

Jackie Ochola

KAMPALA. Andela Uganda’s mission, to say the least, seems compelling.

The company whose trade includes training and mentoring software developers has appointed its first female country director whose immediate brief is to provide strategic leadership and direction to the Uganda office.

Ms Jackie Ochola, the new “boss in town” will also be responsible for Andela Uganda programmatic and operational management as well as overseeing the growth of the country’s most talented software developers.

The appointment of Ms Ochola, an electrical engineer by profession as well as a certified project management professional was made recently, just shortly before she unveiled what the company referred to as technology-centred collaborative office space in Kampala.

“The launch comes as Andela looks to equip the next generation of technologists and innovators in Kampala with the expertise they need to accelerate the advancement of their local communities through technology,” a reads part of a statement issued by Andela Uganda.

The Kampala office also known as the tech Centre will house Andela’s 110- strong world-class developers and staff in a work space aimed at fostering collaboration.

“If we have 100,000 developers with the support of Andela solving one problem each, then we have 100,000 problems in Africa solved,” Ms Ochola told the audience comprise of techies, most of whom were youths.

She continued: “To our young developers looking to gain a foothold in the tech ecosystem, here you will find an environment to kick-start your career into what you want to become.”

Ms Ochola whose rich Curriculum Vitae (CV)  include previously serving as the Managing Director of Nokia Uganda, brings nearly 20 years of experience in managing and scaling engineering and tech teams across Africa.

Builders of elite techies

Over the last three or so years, Andela hasn’t done itself any harm yet, It has since generated a deserved reputation for building elite tech teams, by providing the tools that aspiring young technologists need to be globally competitive software developers.

The global engineering organisation, headquartered in New York City in United States, founded nearly four years ago, on the premise that brilliance is evenly distributed, has a mission to develop 100,000 App developers who in turn are expected to solve the same number of problem with their innovations.

Speaking to the young and ambitious developers during the launch of the Kampala technology Centre, Mr Albert Mucunguzi, the board chair of Uganda ICT Association, said, “Andela’s presence in Uganda will boost expansion our tech industry.”

Since launching in Uganda in 2017, Andela has grown to over 100 hundred team members, a portion of whom are working as full-time engineers at high-growth technology companies. The Andela office has been organised to maximise flexible, distributed working and provide a creative environment for Andela’s Developers.

Utility

Uganda is home to several tech hubs and incubators.

Earlier this year, Andela extended its Andela Learning Community (ALC), a programme that provides aspiring technologists with the tools to become globally competitive software developers.  The programme is being implemented in partnership with Google and Udacity, it has so far s supported 528 aspiring technologists in Uganda.

Andela - whose centres are in Kampala, Lagos, Nairobi, San Francisco and New York City - has built one of the most selective engineering institutions in the world, according to the company’s statement.