Did you know that by 2030 the global tech talent shortage is estimated to reach more than 4.3 million people, with a potential loss of $449.70 billion in annual revenue? At the same time, populations are falling across Europe and stagnating across North America. 83% of employers of IT and technology professionals report difficulty finding the skills they need.
Finding and keeping top-quality software development talent is a challenge for businesses, including scale-ups. Demand for skilled developers often exceeds supply, leading to high salaries and intense competition for the best candidates.
There is chronic unemployment and underemployment across Africa. Every year 12 million Africans enter the job market, but only 3 million formal jobs are created. Most of Africa's young people work informally, and many are underemployed or remain in poverty. 66 million Africans earn less than $2 a day.
Black employees are vastly under-represented in the tech industry globally. In the UK, only 2% of software developers are Black. Black professionals hold 3.7% of technical roles at large US tech companies, despite making up 13% of the overall workforce.
So we're taking on the challenge of our lives. For our co-founders these statistics have been a huge wake-up call. We've worked across tech, government and large corporates, building partnerships worth hundreds of millions.
- Our CEO, Dom Llewellyn (based in the UK), has delivered more than £800m ($1bn) of impact partnerships with governments, corporates and non-profits, been a Government Adviser and launched £6m ($10m) employment programmes. He has worked with Amazon, Barclays, Downing Street and the White House.
- Our CTO, Gideon Boateng (based in Ghana), has co-founded two startups, built a platform for 1 million users, raised seed funding from Western-linked VCs for his second startup and built several tech teams from the ground up. He led PCI DSS certification at Ghana's second-largest fintech (Korba) and has worked with Founders Factory, Google and Global Radio.
- Our Ghana Director, Nehemiah Attigah, has more than 20 years of international experience in enterprise and digital transformation, project management and consulting. He has built innovative communities, companies and products, and managed multi-million-dollar projects across Africa.
We're thrilled to announce the launch of Accelerayt, a new platform that bridges the tech talent gap by connecting high-growth businesses with top-quality software developers in Africa. Our mission is to create 10 million jobs in Africa in the next 10 years through the power of AI and tech innovation. Our AI-enabled, proprietary platform will attract, assess and deploy tech talent to augment clients' teams, helping them source, deploy and manage the right development talent while educating the next generation of software developers.
We are also committed to making a real difference to the next generation of software developers by donating 10% of our net profits to fund training programmes through our soon-to-launch non-profit organisation, Accelerayt.org.
For scale-ups, we offer cost savings, better diversity and inclusion, and more flexibility and scalability. Partners can access top-quality talent at a lower cost, scale their teams up or down as needed, and make their teams more diverse and inclusive. Developers who work with us can work with and learn from Western businesses, access ongoing training and mentoring, and, after three years with us, move to the West.
While there are a growing number of unicorns recognising the potential of Africa's tech industry, no one is focusing on mid-level developers in Africa. By concentrating on them, we can drive significant growth and make a substantial impact.
"We're excited to be launching Accelerayt and to be part of the movement to unlock Africa's tech potential. Are you ready to be part of the movement to unlock Africa's tech potential and create 10 million jobs? Join us on this exciting journey and learn more about Accelerayt today!"