TalentQL - Afrikan Heroes

TalentQL Launches New Initiative for Nigerian Youth Kickstart Careers in Software Engineering

November 2, 2021

TalentQL co-founders : Adewale Yusuf, Opeyemi Awoyemi and Akintunde Sultan

Tech startup TalentQL has announced the launch of AltSchool Africa, a programme where individuals, starting from secondary school graduates, looking to build a career in tech can earn a top-rated diploma in software engineering within a year in Nigeria.

Founded late last year by Adewale Yusuf, Opeyemi Awoyemi and Akintunde Sultan, TalentQL hires, develops and manages remote talent for global companies.

The startup is building a pipeline of quality talent for African companies as well as source and manage top local talent for leading international firms. Its model includes building talent campuses in less-crowded African cities with proximity to top tertiary institutions. It currently has 3,000 vetted individuals in this talent network.

TalentQL raised a US$300,000 funding round in November, and recently added US$120,000 to that after being selected to take part in Techstars Toronto. It has now launched AltSchool Africa, which is structured around a comprehensive curriculum designed to impart the knowledge required to gain employment as a qualified software engineer without the rigours of a traditional four-year undergraduate degree programme.

Students can take advantage of a flexible study schedule to complete all the modules while attending to their existing professional and personal commitments. Designed to be beginner-friendly for students, the programme is open to candidates with no prior knowledge or experience in software engineering.

AltSchool Africa is also a platform without borders, as it does not charge tuition upfront. This means that students will only pay after the completion of their diploma programme and upon securing a job. The one-year programme also comes with a three-month internship that would provide students with ample opportunity to perfect their newly acquired software engineering skills in a professional setting.

“We are very excited to be introducing AltSchool Africa to the continent. Our mission at TalentQL has always been to decentralise and democratise opportunities for African Talents, and this is just another way we are fulfilling that mission. We are empowering individuals interested in a career in tech with a solid foundation that will enable them to gain access to a truly global spectrum of tech jobs thereby and competitive salaries,” said Yusuf.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

TalentQL Raises $300k pre-seed Funding Round

November 18, 2020

The African focused talent outsourcing and incubator company, TalentQL, has announced a successful raise of $300,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by the Lagos-based investment firm, Zedcrest Capital. This news comes after the startup recently launched with a premise to hire, develop, and manage remote talent for global companies. TalentQL was founded by Adewale Yusuf, co-founder of Techpoint Africa; Opeyemi Awoyemi, co-founder of Jobberman; and Akintunde Sultan, co-founder of DevCareer, with the objective to “build a pipeline of quality talents for African companies as well as source and manage top local talents for leading international companies’ right from Nigeria.”

The organization also claims that it will double the quality of life of its talent while reducing their cost to a third. The company’s model includes building talent campuses in less crowded African cities with proximity to top tertiary institutions which combine to provide a fertile environment for talent development. Its first campus is in Ile-Ife, a city in Osun, Nigeria. According to the CEO, Adewale Yusuf, this pre-seed funding allows us to kickstart this mission and we are convinced that what we are doing at TalentQL will change the African talent landscape. “We believe that talent is Africa’s greatest export and as such needs to be developed and refined”. He added that “we are grateful to the investors betting on us for the journey, our lead investor Zedcrest Capital and some of the known entrepreneurs and investors like Kola Aina, Prosper Otemuyiwa.”

In 2019, Zedcrest Capital, primarily known as a securities trading firm, launched its venture investing initiative. Named Ventures at Zedcrest, the initiative was to allow the firm partake in pre-seed, seed and Series A investments of startups within the continent. While pointing out that TalentQL becomes the 20th company to have the backing of this initiative, Adedayo Amzat, CEO of the firm said:

“African talents are undoubtedly competing favourably globally, and TalentQL’s work will expand the available talent pool to improve further Africa’s representation in the global technology talent space.It is a no brainer to be betting on the TalentQL team. They are entrepreneurs who have built successful businesses, and we have no doubt they will replicate the same success here.”