Microsoft’s AppFactory program is Empowering Africa’s young developers with skills and modern technologies

Apr 14, 2018

Microsoft 4Afrika Academy dean, Lutz Ziob talks about the Microsoft AppFactory Program.

AppFactory
Lutz Ziob speaks to the media

The idea of the Microsoft 4Afrika AppFactory is to bridge the gap of Africans who understand and use modern technologies and platforms. Making them highly employable with modern developer and digital skills in this era of digital transformation.

Microsoft started with two Microsoft development centers for developers in Africa, in south Africa and Egypt back in 2013. The program currently has 16 AppFactory academies across Africa, located in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Mauritius, Malawi and Ethiopia.
[Update: current count is 19. New academies in Botswana and Pakistan.

Through the AppFactory,
Microsoft 4Afrika is empowering Africa’s young developers
with high-level ICT skills in various industries.

– Amrote Abdella
(Microsoft 4Afrika Regional Director)

Working with Partners

Working with partners across Africa we share what we’ve learned in creating a franchise program in training modern developers. We help them train modern developers who become experienced software engineers. Thereby bridging the huge demand of Africans who understand modern technologies and modern development, cloud computing, secure coding, bots and data analytics.

https://youtu.be/y0d7tETzwLc

There’s a lot of open jobs for people with modern developer skills.
And despite having computer graduates they can’t fill the jobs.
So we created a program to train modern developers
.

– Lutz Ziob
(Dean, Microsoft 4Afrika Academy) 

Doing what Educational Institutions are failing at

Companies out there today need a whole range of digital skills. In the space of creating software and solutions you have to have developer skills. The educational systems today are very challenged to understand modern employment needs and demands.
The quickly moving industry is also typically overwhelming the institutions. I wouldn’t say the educational systems are failing. But they maybe failing graduates today to be employable and a future with the skills they deserve.

What we do with the AppFactory is make them understand the latest tools and platforms like Microsoft Azure. Students learn to build digital solutions in business, finance, healthcare, education, agriculture, tourism and transportation.

We also teach them how to work in a real work environment and soft skills that aren’t being taught. Like Learning how to work collaboratively in a modern environment. How to work in the dynamic of a team, who takes the lead, what it means to stay in a budget, how to engage with a customer, etc.

Excited about what Microsoft is doing with the AppFactory program? Let’s hear from you.