Microsoft officially launched the Lagos Africa Development Center site at an event in Nigeria. The Lagos team will develop Azure services that power new Augmented Reality experiences for Microsoft’s mixed-reality platform. An investment that will enable digital transformation to create sustained societal impact in Africa says Microsoft.
Microsoft executives
Presidential Visit
Earlier in the day, Microsoft Nigeria Country manager Akin Banuso led the visiting Microsoft executives to meet with Nigerian Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
Today, I received a delegation from the Microsoft Corporation led by Phil Spencer, the Executive Vice-President of Gaming. pic.twitter.com/ph9tvMeivi
Phil Spencer, Microsoft Executive Vice President of Gaming leading the visiting executives told the vice president about the project. He said Microsoft’s investments are an ambition on the African continent to create a global centre for excellence and development.
It is what makes Microsoft what it is.
Lagos Africa Development Center launch event
Lagos Launch event
Later at the launch event, Nigeria country Manager, Akin Banuso said “our teams will help build products with global impact. We will work with local partners and customers to improve our products for the continent and beyond. This is part of our commitment to creating opportunities for every person. It is what makes Microsoft what it is.”
Microsoft executives at the launch event included Alex Kipman, Michael Fortin and Phil Spencer. It also had other Microsoft engineers and members of the new team in Lagos.
“We have chosen Kenya and Nigeria, as they present a strategic opportunity for us to better understand a continent that is rapidly adopting cloud technology and massive innovation at the intelligent edge.” Michael Fortin, Corporate Vice President, Windows
Alex Kipman
Alex Kipman, Microsoft Technical Fellow Mixed Reality and Artificial Intelligence address the gathering at the launch event.
I am incredibly proud that Africa, the cradle of civilization, now has the opportunity to define the future of computing. I’m inspired by all the creativity and energy of the startups and entrepreneurs here in Lagos, Nigeria. Microsoft will be engaging deeply with developers and universities amongst others. – Alex Kipman
Meet the founding Microsoft ADC cognition team in Lagos Nigeria.
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Firstly are you a team player? Do you have a growth mindset? Are you resourceful and customer focused? Have a demonstrated desire and ability to readily take on complex challenges and work towards solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems? Do you have passion for technology and how technology can inspire and ignite change and renewal? Finally are you Within 12 months of graduation or graduated within the last 12 months?
If you tick yes in all the categories above then Microsoft invites you to apply for a full-time opportunity. Microsoft believes “when smart people with a passion for technology get together they create things that change the world.”
Here are details on qualifications and responsibilities on Full-time Opportunity
Qualifications Applications to this opportunity are considered depending on education level and/or location. To be considered as student/recent graduate, you should be:
Within 12 months of graduation or graduated within the last 12 months.
Up to 2 years of accumulated full-time professional experience.
Passion for the technology and innovation.
Excellent verbal and written communication, analytical and presentation skills.
English language fluency.
Responsibilities We are looking for candidates that have the following qualities:
Team Player: driving digital transformation with our customers is a team sport. We need teammates who can stay maniacally focused on our customers’ satisfaction while operating in a highly-collaborative, matrixed global organization.
Growth Mindset: your life is truly about learning-it-all. You approach every new piece of information, knowledge, and competency with insatiable curiosity. Ultimately, you’re open to the ideas of others, where the success of others does not diminish your own.
Resourceful: you have the drive to overcome any obstacle in your work.
Customer Focused: you learn about your customers and their businesses with a beginner’s mind and then bring solutions that meet their needs.
Pure Challenge: demonstrated desire and ability to readily take on complex challenges and work towards solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.
Passion for Technology: you’re deeply motivated by the incredible opportunity of how technology can inspire and ignite change and renewal.
Microsoft Full-time Opportunity, click to apply below
Dona Sarkar, head of the Windows Insider Program at Microsoft was a panel speaker at the Ghana Digital Roadmap Conference. She joined other panelist in discussing Automation, E-Government services and Data at the event held in Accra, Ghana.
the only way digital transformation can happen is for universities, private sector and the government to work together
Sharing her thoughts on Digital Transformation she said all the stakeholders will have to work together. “The only way digital transformation can happen is for universities, private sector and the government to work together.”
Ghana has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and an average age of 18, she shared. “You have tremendous benefits over the west. You are mobile first and most of your youth have never lived in a world without technology.”
Think like a Tech Company
I recommend you(the government) think like a tech company and behave like one. That means put young people to work she said. The more you think like a tech company the faster you are going to innovate. Do small experiments.
Why are we not putting the youth to work she asked?
Ghana … most advanced airport, … yet I had to stand in line to fill a form, … that took the longest time.
Giving an example Dona said; Ghana has one of the most advanced airport i have ever seen. I’ve been to 80 countries.
From the moment we landed, It took 15 minutes through customs and security, it was insane. Yet i had to stand in line to fill a form, that took the longest time. There’s no need for a form. You already know all about me. I had to get a visa, it was a complex process.
Government, Co-Create with the youth
She encouraged the government to co-create with the youth. Your youth is the greatest asset you have she said. Don’t teach computer science the way you teach english or maths. Don’t teach it from books and then take test. That doesn’t mean anything. Instead have their graduation project be solve a local problem. Have them be project based, then you’ll know your youth are learning, growing and understand the value of the technology.
No Tech Talent in Africa?
Sharing her view on the (Jumia) no tech talent conversation in Africa, Dona said, i couldn’t disagree more. It is an incorrect statement. This is why i say that. The hires from the Africa continent are our(Microsoft) strongest engineers. That’s speaking as one who hires from across the globe.
The talent from Africa is the most innovate and by far looking to solve real problems because they have to. They are trying to solve real problems like how do you have clean water, reduce maternal mortality. It is not just coding skills, it is the desire to do the right thing. So i think it is two parts.
The only problem i’ve seen on the continet and true in Asia and South America is gate keepers shared Dona Sakar. People in position of authority who belive peolpe need to earn their way to a place where they are allowed to solve problems. In Silicon Valley there are no gate keepers, that is the culture.
Celebrate home grown CEO’s
Give young people hard problems to solve she told the government leaders present. One thing we must do is story tell and Hero make these things. Dona couldn’t stress this more, “Celebrate home grown CEO’s“.
Ghana Digital Roadmap Conference is a conversation platform to review Ghana’s aging ICT policy through digitization, for an accelerated development. The theme of the event is Moving Ghana Beyond Aid; Expanding The Local Digital Economy.
The Ghana government says this is in line with its digital opportunities program. To generate ideas developing a digital strategy and an implementation plan to establish Ghana as the leader in ICT innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2023.
I had the pleasure present some thoughts on #DigitalInclusion to the Ministers & leaders in Accra at @mocghana. I did manage to convince @MBawumia, the VP of Ghana to take a selfie and HOPEFULLY convinced him to invite students into his committees and co-create programs with them pic.twitter.com/hBPuY4qlnA
Microsoft CVP Michael Fortin & Phil Spencer in Nairobi at the Launch event.
Africa Development Centre Launch
Today at a media event in Nairobi, Microsoft executives introduced a special development in Kenya. But more importantly for the African continent as a whole. Microsoft launched its first Development Centre in Africa; the Africa Development Centre.
It will have two initial team sites located in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria. The Africa Development Centre(ADC) sites become the seventh and eighth Microsoft development centres sites globally. Microsoft’s other development centres sites are located in China, India, Israel, Vancouver, Boston and Silicon Valley in San Francisco.
Our new Microsoft Africa Development Center will be at the forefront of building innovative solutions that benefit Africa − and the entire world. – Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO
ADC launch event
Microsoft ADC
Microsoft says the;
“ADC will serve as a premier centre of engineering for Microsoft. Where world class African talent can create solutions for local and global impact“.
Microsoft’s Executive Vice President Gaming, Phil Spencer will be the executive sponsor of the Africa Development Center. Speaking at the launch event he said “We are listening more than we are speaking. We want your input and feedback on what we need to do in order to help the market here succeed. We are committed for the long term, to be in partnership with you in helping us grow. Incredible market with amazing talent the universities are putting out“.
He shares this about the project;
“The ADC will be unlike any other existing investment on the continent. It will help us better listen to our customers, develop locally and scale for global impact. Beyond that, it’s an opportunity to engage further with partners, academia, governments and developers – driving impact in sectors important to the continent, such as FinTech, AgriTech and OffGrid energy.” – Phil Spencer
ADC Investment
The ADC will have two teams, the Microsoft Cognition team and the Microsoft Windows Team. With the Congnition team based in Lagos, Nigeria and the Windows team in Nairobi, kenya.
Microsoft is marking a new milestone with this investment in Africa. A $100 million combined expected investment of infrastructure and employment of local qualified engineers. Microsoft will recruit world class African Software Engineers to the sites. Learn how to be part of the Africa Development Center. The development centre website is still under construction and yet to publish new roles.
On what the teams will be doing, Microsoft shares these details.
“Our Microsoft Cognition team and Windows’ team will be kickstarting our ADC efforts, focusing on AI-enabled cloud services, mixed reality experiences and rich applications that power the intelligent edge without disruption.”
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Microsoft is on the look out for engineering talent from across Africa to staff the Africa Development Centre(ADC). The centre will be officially launched in an event tonight. Which we will bring you more details on, so bookmark this site and stay with us. Microsoft executives of the project like Phil Spencer, CVP Gaming visited the President of Kenya ahead of the launch.
The company says it is “seeking engineering talent from across the continent to fuel AI, machine learning and mixed reality innovation.”
Hiring Local Software Engineers
Microsoft has started hiring for various roles and positions in the African Development Center. It plans to recruit about 100 full-time software engineers by the end of 2019 across the two sites in Nigeria and Kenya. Expanding this number to 500 recruits across the two sites by the year 2023. The sites include the Cognition team to be based in Lagos and the Windows team in Nairobi.
Michael Fortin, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft shares what the ADC will mean to the software engineers. He said;
“Our desire is to recruit exceptional engineering talent across the continent that will build innovative solutions for global impact. This also creates opportunities for engineers to do meaningful work from their home countries. And be plugged into a global engineering and development organisation.”
Microsoft to work with Local Universities
Microsoft will partner with some of the local universities in Africa to build its talent pipeline. By creating what it calls “a modern intelligent edge and cloud curriculum“, it says this will be “totally unique to Africa”.
Microsoft also says Graduates will have access to the ADC. Building a relevant and meaningful career in data science, AI, mixed reality, application development and many more.
