Lead the future: Join the Andela Technical Leadership Program

The future of technology depends on leaders. 

Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Anne Wojcicki. Daniel Ek. When you think of contemporary, groundbreaking entrepreneurs, the most prominent are strongly connected to the tech industry. Today, technical leadership is a goal for many technologists as they ascend the career ladder. Bill Gates kickstarted his illustrious career almost fifty years ago, working as a developer before founding Microsoft (in fact, he wrote his first program when he was just 13 years old!). It's those who know the most about technology who are at the forefront of change - the developers and engineers innovating and helping to build the foundations of business.

Leadership, fundamentally, is a different skill set and is one that's too often overlooked. Technical leaders combine a unique mix of strong technical expertise and non-technical skills, including communication abilities, technical empathy, large-scale thinking, fostering consensus, growth mindset, and a willingness to learn.

At Andela, we're aware of the importance of tech leaders, so to ensure the industry thrives, we're centering technical leadership as a specialization in and of itself.

Earlier this year, we published the Africa Developer Survey, which revealed the creativity, entrepreneurship and potential across Africa. With over one third of survey respondents indicating that they've founded their own start-up, technical leadership is clearly top of mind for Africa's technologists. 

Rwanda, in particular, is already well-established as a leading tech hub in Africa, creating the kind of tech eco-system that attracts the interest of investors and start-up entrepreneurs alike. 

During 2021, 500 African startups raised a combined $5 billion in investments, with Rwanda-based firms among the top recipients of investment capital. 

Tech hubs require talented technologists, and inspirational technical leaders, to ensure the growth of their reach, beyond borders.

With a focus on the country of Rwanda, and in partnership with the Ministry of ICT & Innovation and RDB, we're empowering Rwandan technologists to become world-class engineers and future technical leaders, through the Andela Technical Leadership Program (ATLP).

Technical leaders need to develop the right skills to thrive in a global, remote world. The nine month ATLP program - through simulated team projects and an apprenticeship with local companies - will equip learners with the pre-requisite software engineering skills they need to be future leaders.

"The Andela Leadership Program has equipped me with the required skills to become a world class developer and this has pushed me towards building a software engineering company of my own."

Niyonsaba Fridolin, ATLP Alumni and Engineering Manager at Kitech

The ATLP offers aspiring technical leaders the chance to work with world-class engineering teams to master the professional and technical skills needed to accelerate their careers. We seek out and hire exceptional people from a variety of backgrounds who are committed to unlocking their full potential and using technology to change the world.

"The ATLP program was amazing; I got to level-up with my teammates, unblocking each other and sharing demos together to collect feedback. I also enjoyed gaining professional skills from my managers. I learned two very important things: self-branding and personal discipline."

Leny Pascal, ATLP Alumni and Co-Founder of The NearBy App

About the Andela Leadership Program: 

1. Apply: Complete an online application, technical assessment, and interview.
2. Core Concepts: Successful candidates are invited to an 8-week core concepts phase. Building a solid foundation in web development and teamwork essentials.
3. Team Projects: Take part in a 14-week active development of team projects to practice your new technical skills.
4. Apprenticeship: Gain experience working with distributed teams on real-world products and active users over the next 14 weeks.

Technologists who successfully complete the nine-month program not only gain the technical and professional skills demanded by the world marketplace, but receive access to Andela's pool of technical mentors, and are fast tracked to employability as a software engineer in the African Tech Ecosystem. 

We've watched in awe as alumni from the program have progressed to bigger and better opportunities; getting hired by some of the world's top organizations, leading teams and founding their own start-ups.

If you're a Rwandan technologist, and would like to level up your career in technical leadership, apply now to join the Andela Technical Leadership program.

Remember, the future of tech depends on leaders!

Want to become a future technical leader? Then join the Andela Technical Leadership Program!

Become a leader

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