Nigerian software developer  shares her experience at the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon

Nigerian software developer shares her experience at the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon

Microsoft hosts 30 female developers in Lagos.

Microsoft LEAP Hackathon

Microsoft invited female developers in Kenya and Nigeria to participate in the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon 2019 event. An initiative of the newly launched Microsoft Africa Development center. The all-female event seeks to strengthen the place of women in technology. A four day program combining traditional classroom learning with hands on projects. 

In Nigeria 30 female developers were selected from about 170 who successfully applied to participate in the event. Nelly Tadi from Abuja state was one of the 30 selected female developers. She shares with us her experience of the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon.
For Nelly it was a learning curve. Learning new technologies and tools, practicing how to use them and working with a team.

Microsoft LEAP Hackathon Nigeria

I got a forwarded message from a friend on WhatsApp and actually ignored it at first. I later went back to it, clicked on the link and started to fill the form on my phone.” She mentions almost giving up as there was a quiz section in the form where she had to write code and the phone wouldn’t allow. She however had the urge to continue because she found the quiz challenging, intriguing and wanted to solve it. “So I picked up my laptop, entered the link and started the quiz again.”

I was super excited to be selected. I felt honored. I mean it was a Microsoft event with free accommodation and feeding. It felt important.”

Learning

Having once participated in a hackathon event in school – Bingham University – I thought it was going to be coding throughout. We had trainings for the first two days and then the Hackathon for the remaining two days of the event. To be honest before this I had never heard about Azure, Microsoft teams and DevOps.”

Microsoft LEAP Hackathon

Participants were taken through writing maintainable and testable code. Learning about DevOps, Azure, machine learning studio, virtual machines, Azure AI and other Microsoft technologies and tools.  

 “The mentors were really patient with us. Going over the same thing again and again just to ensure that we were learning. The organizers, mentors were all so friendly and easy going. The atmosphere there was enough to give anybody the confidence to ask questions and learn.
We hosted our web app on azure and also did a machine learning project on it with the free credit given to us. So yeah, it wasn’t just about the training, it was great because i actually got to practically use these tools
.”

Hacking with Team 5X at the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon

Microsoft LEAP Hackathon

During the hackathon Nelly Tadi was put in Team 5X. A team that saw her becoming friends with Busola Okeowo, Catherine John, Mary Olohitare Belo and Hope Oluwalolope. Learning the valuable lesson of working in a team. Nelly says “I’m so glad we learnt to understand ourselves. If not i’m quite sure we wouldn’t have been able to come up with a good project not to talk more of winning. I was really excited about winning.”

Nelly’s Team 5X won the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon with a solution they named AGRIFY. A platform that connects buyers, sellers and transporters of good and quality farm produce.

“We created a solution based on a real life problem. Our idea was a product called AGRIFY. Agrify is a platform to connect buyers and sellers of farm produce and also ensure delivery of good quality farm products. We used machine learning to determine quality of farm produce and built the web application with PHP Laravel. During the training we were taught how to host web apps on azure so we implemented that knowledge by hosting our demo app on https://agrify.azurewebsites.net.

Nelly Tadi lives in Abuja and is the founder of Why Code. An organization training young people in different aspects of IT. She shares “we are currently working on introducing coding clubs to schools, running summer schools and other training events. I intend to continue to pursue this dream and also keep learning more about programming and improving my skills.”

Nigeria Internship positions, Microsoft Interns4Afrika

Nigeria Internship positions, Microsoft Interns4Afrika

We are listing open Internship positions in Nigeria in the Microsoft Interns4Afrika initiative.

Internship positions Dynamics 365 Nigeria

Microsoft 4Afrika‘s internship initiative provides real employment opportunities to talented young professionals in Sales, Marketing and IT Technical Support tracks. A response to demand from its software distribution and development partners across Africa and the Middle East.

Do you live in Nigeria? Check out Internship positions in Nigeria. Get to be a Technical Support, Sales or Marketing intern. Microsoft’s Intern4Afrika initiative will offer the intern a unique experience with a dynamic and agile technology organization.

You will get the opportunity to work for 6 months with a Microsoft partner organization on real projects. Get to collaborate and learn from your colleagues.
You can also get to be hired by the firm depending on your performance and if you are interested in being hired after the internship program” a participant shared. “After 6 months, the session came to an end and I was lucky enough to be retained by the company” Elizabeth Chege shares.

For more question about the Interns4Afrika program, check out the program FAQ’s 

Kindly click on links below to apply on the Microsoft 4Afrika Interns4Afrika FUZU page. Sign up and fill away. All the best.

Open positions in Nigeria

All the best to you as you apply. If you do get in, come back and share the experience with us? Also kindly report any broken links so we can fix them. Thank you.

Female Developer in Kenya or Nigeria? Participate in the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon 2019

Female Developer in Kenya or Nigeria? Participate in the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon 2019

Microsoft Invites Female Developers to participate in the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon 2019. The LEAP Program is a benefit of the recently announced Africa Development Centres in Lagos and Nairobi, Microsoft says. It is a 16 weeks Software Engineering Program which focuses on strengthening the place of women in technology. Combining traditional class room learning with hands on projects in a real-world development experience.

Microsoft is inviting lady developers to participate in the inaugural LEAP hackathon event. There will be two events scheduled to take place in Kenya and Nigeria. At the Radisson Blu, Upper Hill in Nairobi on the 17th to the 21st of June. And at the Microsoft Office, Civic Tower in Lagos, Nigeria.

The LEAP Engineering Acceleration Program provides a new approach to talent sourcing. Leveraging modern models and avenues to find passionate and capable talent among women who are from a non-traditional ICT background or those returning to the workplace environment after a while.

Visit the Microsoft LEAP Hackathon 2019 registration page to register. By providing personal details and answering a few questions.

Register.

Microsoft Interns4Afrika open positions in Nigeria

Microsoft Interns4Afrika open positions in Nigeria

We are listing open positions in Nigeria in the Microsoft Interns4Afrika initiative.

Dynamics 365 Nigeria

Microsoft 4Afrika‘s internship initiative provides real employment opportunities to talented young professionals in Sales, Marketing and IT Technical Support tracks. A response to demand from its software distribution and development partners across Africa and the Middle East.

Do you live in Nigeria? Get to be a Technical Support, Sales or Marketing intern. Microsoft’s Intern4Afrika initiative will offer the intern a unique experience with a dynamic and agile technology organization.

The intern will get the opportunity to work for 6 months with a Microsoft partner organization on real projects. Get to collaborate and learn from your colleagues. “You can also get to be hired by the firm depending on your performance and if you are interested in being hired after the internship program” a participant shared.

For more question about the Interns4Afrika program, check out the program FAQ’s 

Kindly click on links below to apply on the Microsoft 4Afrika Interns4Afrika FUZU page. Sign up and fill away. All the best.

Open positions in Nigeria

All the best to you as you apply. If you do get in, come back and share the experience with us? Also kindly report any broken links so we can fix them. Thank you.

Microsoft launch Africa Development Center in Lagos

Microsoft launch Africa Development Center in Lagos

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.

Lagos Africa Development Center
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.

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 Africa Development Center
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.

As part of the announcement, Microsoft will recruit exceptional engineering talent to build innovative solutions. Microsoft had also held a similar event to launch the ADC Nairobi site. The Nairobi site team will focus on Windows development.

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

Lagos Africa Development Center
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.

Check out what’s new on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to follow for the latest videos and news in the ecosystem.

[jetpack_subscription_form subscribe_placeholder=”Enter your email address” show_subscribers_total=”false” button_on_newline=”false” submit_button_text=”Hi,
sign up so you can get the latest
in breaking news, reviews,
opinions, events,
opportunities and
community updates right
in your inbox. ” custom_font_size=”16px” custom_border_radius=”0″ custom_border_weight=”1″ custom_padding=”15″ custom_spacing=”10″ submit_button_classes=”” email_field_classes=”” show_only_email_and_button=”true”]
Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa: Microsoft Full-time Opportunity for Students and Recent Graduates

Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa: Microsoft Full-time Opportunity for Students and Recent Graduates

Full-time Opportunity

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

Nigeria – Students and Recent Graduates

Students and Recent Graduates – Kenya


South Africa – Students and Recent Graduates

This week Microsoft announced an Africa Development Center with sites in Nairobi and Lagos. Microsoft will be looking to partner with some universities to develop talents for the center.

All the best, come share your thoughts and how Microsoft Full-time Opportunity application went with us afterwards.