Recruit best engineers to save 85% of startup which die every year in Africa!

In Africa, more than 85% of registered businesses never celebrate the first year, because of different reasons mainly due to a shortage of skills in various aspects! Every year, Africa loses $6 Billion because of the skills gap, however, it has smart people and very skilled, unfortunately, those who are disconnected, either living in Diaspora or disorganized in the continent! Africa engineering Base is aiming at bringing competent computer engineers under one roof to support startups which are trying to solve community problems using technology but can’t access or afford right competent skilled people to back up their great idea technically, and significantly contribute to saving  companies which are growing and also a huge amount of dollars Africa lost because of skills shortage.

Why $11k to support Africa Engineering Base Initiative?

To build a strong Base which can grow and be able to back up the big part of the content, it is important to engage people from different corners of Africa. The eleven thousand will be used to recruiting the best Computer engineers/Scientists from different corners of Africa. In this trip of recruiting of engineers, I will be connecting to people who run technology communities to spread the message among entrepreneurs who may be selected for our 1^st1st cohort of startups to be supported by this Africa Engineering Base.

Morocco, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya map of recruitment! 

A big part of the fund will be used in process of recruitment, travelling in five countries for a period of three months, where funds will cover the cost of travelling, accommodations and other additional expenses such as hosting meeting, VISAs etc. The recruitment process is targeting top 15 engineers from five different countries.

Morocco has many brilliant minds and which represent North corner of Africa, I will visit the Ivory Coast, the Quest Africa and French speaking country which is investing heavily in technology. Nigeria, is the powerful economy of Africa, with a big population, among countries to do recruitment, it includes RWANDA, my home country, the host of Africa campus of top engineering university in the world, Carnegie Mellon which is producing Africa World class engineers.The last but not least country is Kenya the mother of popular innovation mPesa, which has transformed the usage of mobile in Africa.

The future of Africa Engineering Base

Mission of this engineering base is not teaching coding, but bringing together smart and very elite African computer engineers under one roof to solve continental engineering relevant problems. We are introducing a new business model in Africa, which is capitalizing on Africa culture of supporting each other and a collective society but customized to accommodate global changes and being competitiveness. The base will continue to attract and bring so many brilliant and competent engineers and business development agents across Africa and Diaspora to capitalize on Africa’s people knowledge. Over the past 60 years at least $1 trillion of development-related aid has been transferred from rich countries to Africa.Yet real per-capita income today is lower than it was in the 1970s. Aid model doesn't work in the long run, and will never work that way, only engineering base to respond to the skills shortage.

SHIKAMA Dioscore, a Botanist by academic background and revolutionary Tech entrepreneur!

I am the Founder and CEO at GO, www.go.rw , I founded GO in 2011. I graduated in 2015 in Biology from University of Rwanda. Precisely, I majored in Botany and conservation while minoring in zoology and biotechnology however, I started my technology career when I was 19, before starting my university studies, I was qualified to go in Computer engineering but I didn’t wanted to comprise my love toward understanding natural and learning more what is happening in laboratory. I am self-taught in technology businesses.  

In 2013, during Transform Africa Summit, a technology summit initiated by H.E Paul Kagame I was nominated among top 25 Youth Extravaganza across Africa. Again, in 2014 when I was still a student at University of Rwanda, I received The Africa Innovation Prize, an award initiated by Cambridge students to recognize students with entrepreneurship spirit and set to transform their community.

I am a Founding member of Rwanda ICT Young entrepreneurs Association, which operate under Private Sector Federation of Rwanda to support young tech entrepreneurs to have one voice and get supported. Also, I am a Regional Young Africa Leader Initiative fellow, a flagship initiative by H.E Barack Obama, I am a full-time learner, a strategic business leader, with competitive skills in software analysis and business model designing which disrupt the industry.

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