Africa has an employment problem. Available data indicates that nearly 13 million young people in Africa are unemployed. In Nigeria, the unemployment rate is predicted to rise to 40% this year as the country faces economic recession and five million new jobseekers enter the job market every year. This high unemployment rate also coincides with a shortage of skilled tech professionals.
Solving the hiring challenge
The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the rapid digitisation of various industries, especially the tech industry, and made international hiring easier. However, research from Founders Factory Africa indicates that a big problem with hiring African tech talent is the quality of talent available. There are more international work opportunities now but recruiters are sceptical about the level of education and skill that African universities can produce. African tech professionals need jobs but they cannot get jobs unless they have experience and they cannot get experience because recruiters have reservations about their education and lack of experience. This catch-22 severely limits African tech professionals.
The mismatch between available labour and in-demand talent creates a struggle for underskilled talents who cannot find a hands-on experience to help them upskill. It also highlights a critical challenge for businesses on the continent looking for tech Talent. This challenge is what Talenvo, the revolutionary work-experience platform, has set out to solve.
How Talenvo is helping tech professionals get employed
Talenvo is a platform that offers tech talents real-world hands-on experience to improve their skills. If you’re a tech professional looking to be employed or trying to transition from one tech role to another, Talenvo offers an opportunity to build work experience without going to an office.
Founded in 2024 by Temidayo Adefioye, Talenvo was created as a platform to help tech talents go from learning to doing. There are so many resources to teach tech but not enough opportunities to use that knowledge. Talenvo’s mission stems from a deep understanding of the challenges faced by African tech professionals in this area.
According to Adefioye, the idea for the platform came from his experiences working across Africa. “I’m solving this problem because I have trained and mentored thousands of people across Africa and I have realised that there is always a need for prior work experience during job hunting. It’s a serious pain point for many techies,” he says. While educational institutions provide valuable technical knowledge, there’s often a disconnect between theory and real-world application.
Talenvo helps African tech talents bridge this critical gap between acquiring technical skills and gaining tangible work experience, and this empowers them to thrive in the competitive tech landscape. Now in its beta phase, Talenvo is open to tech professionals who are interested in growing their skills and employability by gaining relevant work experience.
Why join Talenvo?
Talenvo stands out due to its unique features and approach to addressing the needs of tech talents. Through the immersive projects and challenges it offers tech job seekers can boost their portfolio and become more visible and attractive to global recruiters. Unlike traditional learning methods, Talenvo goes beyond theory, allowing its participants to:
- Work on practical projects: Collaborate with other talented individuals across Africa on projects that mimic real-world industry scenarios. Tech professionals in the beta programme will work on current industry problems. This provides invaluable experience in applying technical skills to solve practical problems.
- Skill assessments and development: Regular assessments will help participants identify areas for improvement and track their skill development over time. Talenvo also offers resources and guidance to help participants continuously enhance their skills.
- Personalised feedback from industry experts: Participants receive anonymous feedback from industry experts on completed projects. This feedback will introduce them to how work assessments happen in the real world of work and allow them to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and gain insights from experienced professionals.
- Build a strong portfolio: With this hands-on experience participants have projects to add to their portfolio. They can showcase completed projects and achievements to potential employers and demonstrate their skills with tangible evidence/experience.
- Increased visibility: Participants in the Talenvo beta programme can also stand out to potential employers by showcasing their skills and projects on Talenvo a platform designed to connect tech talents with top recruiters.
- For recruiters, Talenvo offers a pool of pre-vetted, highly-skilled tech talent to hire from. If you would like to become a partner and have access to top tech talent contact Talenvo here.
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With Talenvo, the pool of talented individuals who struggle to secure jobs due to a gap between their technical knowledge and practical work experience will significantly reduce. According to Joke Akintara, Head of Growth at Talenvo, “At Talenvo we are committed to democratising access to quality work experiences, making it possible for every tech talent to reach their full potential and successfully launch their careers in the tech industry. Our platform is specifically designed to transform the way tech talents are trained, evaluated, and hired, ensuring they are job-ready and equipped to thrive in competitive tech roles. By participating in Talenvo, users not only enhance their skills through hands-on industry-standard projects but also significantly boost their visibility and attractiveness to potential employers.” she says.
While Talenvo is transforming the way tech talents acquire real-world experience, the company is constantly innovating. The team is actively developing new tools, features, and services to further enhance the user experience and expand their impact within the African tech ecosystem. To be part of this beta programme, join the talent waitlist here.
