Empowering Africa's Future Innovators: A2SV Partners with Google for Third Year in a Row to Nurture Talent Across African Tech

This partnership will further A2SV's mission of breaking down barriers and increasing educational and professional opportunities for students across Africa.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 6, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Africa to Silicon Valley (A2SV), a leading international organization training African university students to have better access to career opportunities and create tech-driven local solutions for their local communities, is working to expand in 2024 with generous support from Google.

The nonprofit will utilize new funding to broaden software engineering and technical training for university students across more African countries and to develop impactful initiatives like their annual continent-wide hackathon. A2SV currently collaborates with local universities in Ethiopia and Ghana to identify aspiring tech professionals, provide pathways for industry networking and offer a free and rigorous curriculum for students to receive hands-on technical training and develop digitally innovative projects to address pressing regional challenges. Through a unique and innovative approach of prioritizing depth over breadth, A2SV highlights the importance of nontraditional education and experiential learning when supporting a new generation of tech talent.

With the ongoing partnership with Google, A2SV has connected 13 students with internship opportunities and 16 students with full-time positions at the company. Alongside Google, other 28 placements of internships and full-time employment positions include Bloomberg, Amazon and Palantir to jumpstart their engineering careers. A2SV aims to expand to additional countries in Africa with the hope of giving more students a chance to succeed in the tech industry and use their technical skills to better their communities.

"The A2SV program was a pivotal chapter in my life. It equipped me with the skills and confidence to tackle complex tech challenges, and I continue to use these skills to this day as a Google engineer," says Tadele Y. Tekalign, A2SV alumnus and software engineer at the Google AI Research Center in Ghana. "I am currently working on Google's flood forecasting initiative which is critical technology for preventing natural disasters in Africa and globally. A2SV propelled me to a new level of success, and I'm proud to be contributing to the digital solutions transforming the continent."

Since its founding, A2SV has trained over 500 students in foundational tech skills, employed 142 of them to run its operations, connected 57 students with software engineering opportunities at leading tech companies, and driven 5 active social impact community projects through innovative tech solutions.

"We are grateful for our partners like Google who believe in the potential of our students and make this work possible," said Emre Varol, founder and CEO of A2SV. "With the industry becoming increasingly competitive, our work is more important than ever. A2SV is building a world where African students can have the opportunities to grow and succeed in tech regardless of their backgrounds, and I'm incredibly proud of that."

In the past year alone, A2SV hosted the largest hackathon in Africa with over 3,700 participants across 47 countries, where the top 9 teams were flown to Ethiopia for an all-expense-paid 5-day in-person event. Participants competed to address unique challenges in their communities through tech-led initiatives for a total prize pool of $30,000. Generative AI-themed Hackathon provided students with the resources to unlock the power of AI and use it to tackle Africa's most pressing challenges.

"We are proud to support A2SV's impactful initiatives training students from across Africa and connecting them to leading tech companies," said Yossi Matias, VP Engineering & Research and executive lead of the Google AI Research Center in Ghana and Nairobi. "Talent is everywhere and Google is committed to helping provide more opportunities, fostering diversity and expanding access to tech education. This grant is part of our broader efforts to help break barriers, providing students from across the continent with the tools to thrive, from the very first interview (an important part of the process), and until their integration into the ever-evolving world of technology."

For media inquiries regarding A2SV, please contact Cecilia Apodaca at (212) 337-8870 or [email protected].

About A2SV

A2SV is an international nonprofit working to bridge the gap between students across African countries and Big Tech. With the tech industry becoming increasingly competitive, the nonprofit is on a mission to provide opportunities for talented software engineers to grow their careers, learn from industry experts and use this knowledge to better their local communities through digital innovation. A2SV currently partners with universities in Africa to provide students with free training and pathways for internships in leading tech companies including Google and Bloomberg. Their annual continent-wide Hackathon further aims to diversify the industry by encouraging youth to address unique challenges in their communities through tech-led initiatives. To learn more about the organization, visit their website a2sv.org.

Media Contact

Cecilia Apodaca, A2SV, 1 9702370440, [email protected], https://a2sv.org/ 

SOURCE A2SV