Recently, many Nigerian tech bros (and tech sisters) have been distressed by the reports of mass layoffs by tech companies both within and outside the country.
But it appears the situation is not as hopeless as it’s been painted to be, because findings by Nairametrics have shown that some tech startups are currently recruiting massively.
Industry analysts have suggested that the peculiar situation in Nigeria leading to the mass exit of its tech talent through the ‘japa’ trend means that more opportunities exist for tech talents still in the country.
Analysts also observed that the recent layoffs by tech companies around the world, including some from Nigeria, may just be the springboard to creating more startups that will open up more opportunities for tech experts.
Ongoing recruitments: One of the leading fintech startups in the country, TeamApt, which is also one of the largest employers of labour in the Nigerian startup space with 350 full-time staff, is currently advertising vacancies for a total of 56 positions in the company.
While the talent hunt includes non-IT and IT professionals, 12 of the positions advertised by the company are for engineers, business analysts, and app developers.
- Another fintech giant in Nigeria, Flutterwave, is also currently recruiting for the positions of Backend Engineer and IT Audit Manager.
- Similarly, Renmoney, a consumer finance company, also currently has some vacant positions to be filled in its IT Department. According to the career section of its website, the company is currently recruiting for the positions of Test Automation Engineer, IT Business Analyst, QA Tester, Quality Assurance Lead, and UX Designer.
- Carbon, a digital lending platform, also has vacancies for several positions that include a Senior Android Developer, Senior Platform Engineer, Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer, and Senior iOS Engineer.
The Japa effect: Speaking to Nairametrics, the Chief Executive Officer of IT solutions company Jidaw Systems, Mr Jide Awe, said there will always be job opportunities in the tech space in Nigeria because the country is currently short of tech professionals. He said:
- “Before the layoffs become a trend, many Nigerian companies have been losing their tech staff to the Japa trend, so they are really in need of tech hands. And aside from those going abroad, we now have many Nigerian tech bros resigning from the companies they work for to start remote work where they are working for more than one company and are earning far more than what a company can pay them. So, where some are laying off, there are opportunities in many companies that tech professionals in Nigeria can still utilize.”
Opportunities amid chaos: According to the Co-founder of Tech4Dev, a non-profit organisation that is building entrepreneurs through digital skills, Oladiwura Oladepo, despite the layoffs, there are still abundant opportunities for tech workers both in Nigeria and abroad.
- “The tech layoffs won’t be the end for the tech industry. There are still abundant opportunities for people to be able to get tech jobs whether here in Nigeria or abroad. The fact is that as some organisations are laying off, some are recruiting. Technology has changed from being a support function for many organisations to being the enabler, so there will always be a need for tech experts; there will always be jobs for tech people. Yes, the economy may be bad, but we still need people to build and design different software that organizations will leverage. There will always be a need for people to analyse data, so there will always be opportunities even amid the chaos.
- “The fact is that in times of crisis, you find a lot of startups springing up. Recently, there was a lady who announced that if there is anyone that was laid off and willing to start his or her own business, she and her team are willing to invest in such. You may see some of the people that are being laid off today starting their own companies tomorrow and that create more startups.”
Remote work factor: For Mr Jude Okwoknwo, an IT Specialist, who works remotely, even if tech companies in Nigeria are not recruiting, there are lots of opportunities for tech professionals through remote jobs.
- “I can boldly tell you that at least 50% of tech guys in Nigeria are now into remote jobs either partially or fully. tell you that 65% of Tech guys are into Remote jobs… Either partially or fully. With remote work, you can do more than one job and you earn in dollars. So, I can say there is no dull moment in the tech world even with the news of layoffs here and there,” he said.
