Today’s world is highly influenced by technology, and it’s shaping our future. For an underdeveloped continent like Africa, technology has the power to completely revitalize and place it on a sustainable path. The past couple of years has seen the rise of tech hubs that have equipped fantastic minds who have gone on to found or co-found great startups.
The Bulb Africa, a tech talent incubator, is one of these many hubs that has worked closely with partners like Pledges Inc. to provide learning and career opportunities to young people in Nigeria. One way it has done this is via its fellowship program, which trains young people in tracks like DevOps, JavaScript, DotNet, and more, in 4-6 months.
In honor of the graduation of 52 fellows from the 3rd cohort of its Fellowship program, The Bulb launched its first one-day event for developers, Devthon 1.0, on the 5th of November, 2022, at its facility in Jibowu, Yaba.
Present at the event were the co-founders Tosin Osunkoya and Wande Adams, notable tech professionals, partners, sponsors, and of course, fellows of the graduating cohort.
In an opening speech by Wande Adams, he talked about setting up the Fellowship to create opportunities for young Nigerians and a Career Advance program to solve the issue of underemployment for young Africans. “The Bulb Africa as an EdTech organization empowering tech talent across Africa exists because we believe that if we invest in you, we can invest back into the society.”
Tosin Osunkoya emphasized the power of Intellectual Property (IP) in his briefing to the graduates, encouraging graduating fellows to maximize their ideas and work on their soft skills. “Intellectual property is the next wealth. Take what you have gathered from this Fellowship to the next level. Build your IP, leverage on soft skills, and you’d be on the path to success.”
In speaking with the press, both co-founders explained the value pipeline created when tech hubs are empowered, and a chance is taken on talent. Wande Adams states, “We need more tech hubs, more backing for tech hubs, and government interventions. Many startup founders are products of different tech hubs across the country. So hubs are platforms that will not just create employment but also create businesses.”
Additionally, Adams highlighted Pledges Inc, a San Francisco charity organization. Pledges provided The Bulb Institute funds as a career training bond for intending applicants who do not have the appropriate funds needed to pay Fellowship’s tuition.
He said “the partnership is set to advance The Bulb Africa’s effort to bridge the talent gap in Africa by upskilling youths with in-demand tech skills and reiterating Pledges’ commitment to supporting projects that offer significant value.”
Agreeing with his co-founder, Tosin Osunkoya spoke on the need for government and private institutions to see investment in people (talent) as a medium or long-term investment that will yield significant returns just as it did for the Indians. “Nigeria is largely dependent on trade and services, which sits on the back of technology. If you invest in people that will drive this, the ripple effect will be enormous. We lack a substantial amount of platforms that will empower young minds. In trying to do this, we conceived the idea for the fellowship program to empower young people and help them gain employment.” he said.
Devthon 1.0 featured award sessions, keynote speeches, panel discussions, an award ceremony, and a product/project pitch by the graduating fellows and alums.
A panel session on effective career mapping for a constantly evolving tech space was delivered by Growth Consultant at Lifebank, Modupe Durosinmi-Etti, Software Engineer at Duplo David Igbigbi, and Technical Learning Expert Raymond Akinfolarin.
The product/project showcase featured amazing works such as Coin and Resettle by graduating fellows and some alumni of the program.
Majemu Olowonla, product manager at Chakka, and Philip Nkwam, a facilitator at NextGen Africa, delivered keynote speeches on unlocking exponential growth and opportunities for developers in a decentralized ecosystem.
Bringing the event to a close, several awards were presented, including Tech Jewel of the year, Most Complaint, Best Graduating Fellow, and more.
In a speech by the recipient of the best graduating fellow award, Olufunto Olumuyia Oyewole explained that he thought he was coming to the Fellowship to learn to code but found out that the program was more than that. “During orientation, Wande said, this is not a place where we teach you; The Bulb is a ladder. I took that and decided I was not just going to learn; I was going to make sure I used the ladder as much as possible. I was able to help other people with JavaScript, which also solidified my knowledge.”, he said.
He landed a job at one of the leading banks in Nigeria and considers himself a living testimony of the program.
Devthon is set to return bigger and better soon. Similarly, applications for a new cohort of the Fellowship Program will be announced soon. Visit the Fellowship at The Bulb website to learn more.
