Statement from Christina Sass, Andela Co-Founder and President

After five and a half life-changing years, I will be stepping down from my full-time role as President of Andela, and transitioning into a supporting role as the Chair of the Andela Advisory Council and the Andela Alumni Group effective July 15, 2019.Building Andela has been the hardest, and best thing, I’ve ever done in my life. For this reason, I approach this transition with a mixture of joy and sadness. I feel immense joy when I reflect on all that Andela has accomplished since 2014, and when I think of the bright future that lies ahead for the company and the team. Of course, I am also sad because I have found my time at Andela the most uplifting, meaningful, fun, and profound experience of my life.In the early years of Andela, the majority of my life was spent getting our country offices up and running. Today, Andela offices in Lagos, Nairobi, Kampala and Kigali are absolutely thriving and have strong local leadership to nurture and expand our country teams. This experience has inspired me to think about the influence I can have in the world more broadly. It is because of this inspiration and because of how strong Andela is today, that I feel compelled to move out of the day-to-day and to champion the company in a different way moving forward.I am excited to continue to Chair Andela’s Advisory Council, an extraordinary group of leaders whose expertise has helped to shape Andela. It has also been thrilling to see former Andelans make their mark on the world and I delighted to become their Alumna in Chief.As I embark on my next professional pursuit, I leave inspired to consider all the many ways that Andelans, like myself, can continue to influence our world. I will be spending the next few months exploring entrepreneurial ideas. I remain passionate about connecting talented young people with meaningful work and empowering women and will explore opportunities that can meaningfully impact those issues.It has been an extraordinary honor to work alongside such a group of committed, passionate, and fiercely capable people. I am grateful to all Andelans who have surrounded me the last several years. I also want to thank my Andela co-founders, Brice, E, Ian, Nad, and especially Jeremy for their partnership, inspiration, and support on this EPIC journey.TIA,Christina