Geeks On A Plane Visits Andela

Andela Lagos has gotten its fair share of high profile visitors in the past year, starting with Captain Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg) last summer, to the Grandfather of Extreme Programming, Kent Beck, and now 500 Startups’ group, Geeks On A Plane. It’s more than people sightseeing in Africa -- it signifies a deeper movement of Silicon Valley powerhouses paying attention to the burgeoning tech scene in Nigeria. If you ask anyone in Yaba, they will tell you that the future of technology will be built in cities across Africa.Geeks On A Plane (GOAP) made their inaugural trip to sub-Saharan Africa last month in an effort to introduce investors and entrepreneurs to international startups. Fostering a healthy relationship between home-grown African tech talent and Silicon Valley is increasingly important for the overall advancement of the industry. This is especially essential in understanding emerging markets. If you build products with Silicon Valley-based teams targeting a Silicon Valley user base, you immediately cut yourself off from a vast majority of markets. Beyond the educational purposes that this trip serves, it is further validation that Africa is a major player in the international tech game. Our Country Director of Nigeria, Seni Sulyman, explains: "The Geeks On a Plane visit to Andela Nigeria validates the increasing participation and relevance of Nigerian developers within the global technology scene. I hope this visit will encourage further collaboration between Silicon Valley and the Nigerian tech ecosystem.”There is no replacement for experience, and GOAP knows the value of visiting a location in order to truly understand the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It was an awesome time hosting the Geeks and our Andela Developers learned some incredible insight from these leading technologists.Check out the video below showcasing some highlights from their trip and if you want to learn more about how Andela is impacting the global tech scene, click here![embed]https://andela-1.wistia.com/medias/bqcbowwmvv?embedType=async&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=640[/embed]