Ethiopia’s Gebeya Adds Coders4Africa To Its Portfolio
In a move that is strategically poised to bolster efficient and rapid expansion plans into various regions of Africa, Ethiopian startup, Gebeya Inc. has announced the acquisition of CODERS4AFRICA(C4A); a company that claims to have pioneered training for coders in Africa as one of the first amongst coding schools on the continent.
On the backs of the latest addition to its growing portfolio, Gebeya is looking to spur further growth and fuel the development of a sound talent pool into its marketplace. The latest acquisition also entails that the Ethiopian startup will now absorb C4A’s current network of over 3500 African developers spread across six countries on the continent which the software company has groomed for nearly a decade. In addition, Gebeya will also now have access to C4A’s global partners as part of the perks that come with the acquisition.
Since coming into existence in 2009, C4A currently boasts branches in Africa and North America. From modest beginnings, it is now widely regarded as a full-service software and consulting company which specializes in software development for both web and mobile platforms. It may have started out as an initiative to give back to communities, but the enterprise has only blossomed since its creation. The software company has somewhat transformed itself into something of a one-stop shop for cross-platform software development and high-quality web and mobile APP solutions to clients around the globe.
C4A is actually considered the precursor to Gebeya. As revealed by Amadou Daffe, CEO of Gebeya, in a conversation with WeeTracker, the acquisition of C4A; a company he co-founded and worked with for several years until relinquishing his shares and exiting sometime in 2015 before going ahead to create Ethiopian coders marketplace and training startup, Gebeya, was triggered by the information that his former workplace was going up for sale. And since both firms share similar interests, the acquisition was almost seamless. On the backs of the new development, C4A will now be absorbed entirely into the business model and branding strategy of Gebeya, with the end-game being to merge both companies by the end of 2018 fully.
Staying true to its vision of building a new type of employee market, Gebeya (a word that translates to ‘marketplace’ in Amharic; Ethiopia’s national language), has by this new acquisition, further underlined its position in the area of connecting highly-trained tech professionals with the companies and startups that require their expertise. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, Gebeya has since extended its tentacles to other Tech markets in Kenya, US, and the UK. The company now seems well-positioned to foster the unearthing and refining of Africa’s best talents in software engineering whose services can impact such sectors as Financial Services, Media, Health, Agriculture, Power, Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and Blockchain Technology, amongst others.
“The past few years, we have seen an incredible boost in terms of Tech hubs, capital investment and startups in Africa. However, for a robust and sustainable startup ecosystem, there needs to be three essential components: entrepreneurs, capital, and talent,” the Ethiopian startup’s CEO is quoted as saying in what appears to be a press release issued via a post on his LinkedIn page following the addition of C4A to the Gebeya portfolio.
He further offered, “If one of these is missing, an imbalance is created, and growth is crippled. Gebeya is committed to producing the best talent possible to empower startups across Africa. To further expand the real-world experience of building and deploying advanced software training programs, we have acquired C4A, which has accumulated a lot of knowledge on the IT landscape in Africa. C4A and Gebeya bring together a proven track record in designing, deploying and evolving training for software engineers, that lead to success in the real-world market for software and systems development.”
Commenting on the development, Yusuf Bashir, CEO of C4A, highlighted the role of the software company in churning out numerous top-notch software developers from Africa to the rest of the world since its inception, while also identifying bedeviling challenges that exist in the form of finding suitable job opportunities for these developers on completion of training. In a bid to overcome the challenge, Mr. Bashir reiterated the role of Gebeya as he explained that the Ethiopian startup’s model, which incorporates both Ed-tech and employment opportunities for developers, is in harmony with C4A’s vision. According to him, “Since Gebeya and C4A share the same vision to see Africa become the next destination hub for tech talent sourcing, the decision for the acquisition was a no-brainer.”
By virtue of the acquisition, Gebeya will now be looking to leverage the software company’s broad and deep understanding of the landscape of software engineering skills in Africa, as well as C4A’s grips with the availability of skills and the demand for expertise.
Following the acquisition, Mr. Bashir, the C4A Chief, is expected to assume the position of CEO, KAD ICT Hub, in Kaduna, Nigeria, which will be looking to utilize the Gebeya marketplace with a view to providing opportunities for some of Nigeria’s best software talents.
Image courtesy: HapaKenya
