It's another Thursday afternoon and time to take a plunge into Abuja's tech ecosystem, this time with Nkechi Oguchi, CEO of Ventures Park, one of Abuja's largest co-working spaces.
In the short time since I relocated to Abuja, she has shown herself to be an accomplished Abuja whisperer.
Today, I approach her with a problem all founders can relate to—hiring skilled talent.
Her work allows her to meet many professionals, from NGO researchers to developers who work from Ventures Park, so I wanted a few tips on tapping into the talent pool she supports. We sit down to discuss the factors that attract skilled senior talent to companies in the ecosystem.
Some takeaways:
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Too many local and international companies are chasing the same talent pool, and the issue is felt across the board, as indicated in a Stears Data survey.
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According to the IFC, technical talent such as software developers and other digitally skilled workers is a crucial indicator of a country's ability to utilise the internet economy and digital trade.
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A challenge most entrepreneurs building for Africa will face is how to build low-cost products with expensive talent.
Spoiler: it's tough, especially if you are not a unicorn (or on your way to becoming one).
During our meeting, she interjects and pulls in a few senior developers—the subject of our conversation. However, the discussion that followed was both illuminating and worrying.
My takeaway?
