After station F in Paris and Algeria, Tunisian edtech startup GoMyCode is setting up in Casablanca through a new Hackerspace in the Kingdom, with the aim of expanding the Gomycode community throughout the MENA region and in Africa. This presence in Morocco comes as part of the startup’s expansion process towards Africa, thanks to a fundraising of 850,000 dollars, in pre-series A, with a view to continuing its geographic expansion and strengthening its technological education platform.
“We have the same challenges in Tunisia and Morocco. There is a real skills gap between what companies ask for and what universities offer as talents and professions. Both countries also have high youth unemployment rates. We are therefore working to reduce this gap through our education model to train for the professions of tomorrow, “says Yahya Bouhlel, CEO of Gomycode.
Here Is What You Need To Know
- The startup won the BIAT Bloom Masters competition in 2017 and was selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the 100 most innovative startups in the Arab world.
- Gomycode ultimately wishes to develop its presence in the African and Middle Eastern market, where 42% of businesses are strongly impacted by digitization and where 65% of the workforce does not yet have the necessary skills in this area.
- By 2030, the African Venture & Startup Funding Report 2018 estimates that the number of young people in Africa will increase by 42%. This will represent a market of young talents, for the majority unfamiliar with the digital evolution. In total, this market is made of 1.2 billion people, including 700 million under 25 years old.
Read also: Protests Against New Phone Tax In Congo DRC Get Underway
A Look At What GoMyCode Does
Launched in 2017 by Yahya and Amine Bouhlel, GoMyCode wants to be the school of the 21st century providing training in web development, web development, video game development, Artificial Intelligence, Data science, UX Design, or even Business Intelligence intended for all. Generally, the GoMyCode educational platform gives students and teachers digital tools for training, content creation, skills management, technical assessment and training, independently on a wide range of skills, thus offering great flexibility to its students.
In addition to Tunis, Sousse and Sfax, GoMyCode has internationalized by opening its doors in Algiers and Paris, inside the prestigious Station F.
The startup also plans to launch its new hackerspaces in Egypt and Nigeria soon.
“We launched this business 3 years ago with an incredible team, and on a very fulfilling, difficult and unpredictable journey. We have built a business, trained more than 5,000 students, opened more than 4 sites, recruited a team of 62 full-time employees, built an educational platform and have and have had a strong impact on people’s lives,’’ co-founder Yahya Boulel said.
The startup also secured support from USAID in the launching launch the program, “Reskill, Upskill,” an initiative intended to fight unemployment in Tunisia. The program seeks to help 2,000 young graduates actively seeking employment to benefit from a 4-month training course guaranteeing their professional integration into innovation professions.
“We continue day after day to develop our training offers by adapting to market demand, particularly to our network of partner companies. This matching between the training provided at GoMyCode and the demand on the employment market is very important for us, because beyond training, we really aimed to have a positive impact in the fight against unemployment by preparing as well as possible, young people — like the not so young — generations for the jobs of tomorrow, “concluded the CEO of GoMyCode, Yahya Boulel.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer