Talent 4 Startups

Challenge

Many African countries struggle to take full advantage of their human capital which translates into high unemployment rates. Especially in modernizing economies, there is great employment potential in sectors like infrastructure, green jobs and ICT. But digital skills are a must. This demand and supply mismatch is also experienced by tech startups: African entrepreneurs and changemakers are building innovative companies, tackling some of the continent’s most pressing challenges, but they cannot always find the skills they need to grow.

Approach

To overcome the challenge, Talent 4 Startups aims to close the digital skills gap by assessing which skills are currently needed. Based on their findings, they identify a portfolio of trainings for high-demand jobs and build a network of digital education organizations to implement them. To pilot the proposed curricula, participating education organizations have the opportunity to grant 250 scholarships with a 50 percent female quota and an 80 percent youth quota.

Goal

We support our partner Digital Africa in implementing two specific objectives: first, to enable startups to access the talent they need to grow as ventures, and second, to equip the African youth with digital skills that allow them to access job opportunities and strengthen the continent’s digital ecosystem. Talents 4 Startups seeks to address the talent challenge faced by startups not only by surveying and filling the skills gaps, but also by matching them with skilled graduates. And eventually, learning from this process to inform a scaling approach.

Our Partners