- Eldohub platform Sasakazi is addressing barriers to decent employment, including the availability of skilled employees among the youth.
- Sasakazi is providing support to young tech professionals in acquiring practical work experience.
- Eldohub Founder Magdalene Chepkemoi says Africa is in dire need of tech talent. An increasing number of firms in Africa are embracing technology to accelerate economic growth.
Kenyan Tech Startup Eldohub has launched a new platform to link Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to young tech professionals as demand for tech talent skyrockets.
The platform dubbed Sasakazi addresses barriers to getting decent jobs. This is by pairing available skilled employees especially among the youth with businesses ready to hire.
Sasakazi offering support to young professionals
The platform occupies a central position between SMEs and tech talent pool. It provides support to young tech professionals in acquiring practical work experience. This way, young professionals are in a position to launching careers in the technology industry.
Further, it provides professional digital apprenticeships, and job placement. By offering soft skills training and mentorship the platform turns tech learners into industry professionals.
Eldohub founder Magdalene Chepkemoi says Africa is in dire need of tech talent across industries. The use of digital technologies is fast assuming a catalyst role in powering economic growth in Africa, she says.
“Access to suitably qualified tech skills is one of the biggest challenges facing SMEs, and the need for tech skills is only likely to increase due to the rising demand for digital tools and processes,” she said.
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The platform has been funded by the UK through the Africa Tech and Innovation Partnership (ATIP) and supported by UK-Kenya Tech Hub.
The project identifies, vets, recruits and places young talents. It connects them with businesses running digital projects where their skills are needed.
Rising need for tech professionals
During the testing period, the platform reached 3,884 tech talents, placed 386 junior tech professionals in 181 businesses (start-ups, SMEs, and/or traditional businesses) within Kenya.
It was piloted in Nandi County, in Kenya’s Rift Valley regions, where tech talents were deployed to digitise government services. Up to 90 percent of the tech talents have been hired by the businesses. The programme targets to reach one million users in the next five years.
“Sasakazi platform was built to disrupt the industry by creating professional digital apprenticeship with time-tested soft skills for digital work setting and support MSMEs to digitise. Now junior tech talents can use Sasakazi to display their qualifications and get connected with opportunities and employers in the digital economy,” Chepkemoi added.
Latest data from German-software firm SAP indicates that there is an acute tech talent shortage across East and West Africa. The March 2023 study reveals that 93 percent of organisations in the two regions say the need for tech skills has increased in the past 12 months.
The study also reveals that the challenge of skills shortage could intensify this year.
