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East Africa’s rapidly burgeoning tech scene is undergoing a transformative shift, thanks to a surge of innovative startups pioneering industry-wide changes. However, the region still grapples with an acute shortage of skilled developers, a challenge that Ethiopian entrepreneurs Amadou Daffe and Hiruy Amanuel are combating head-on with their startup, Gebeya.
Founded in 2016, Gebeya’s mission is reminiscent of Andela’s but with a distinctive Addis Ababa flair. Gebeya’s core objective is to foster a robust talent ecosystem, training and connecting pre-vetted tech talents with African businesses, thereby accelerating the region’s digital economy.
Recent studies by Google indicate that Africa is home to an estimated 716,000 developers, with more than half concentrated in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. Despite an incremental growth of 3.8% from preceding years, the African developer pool still lags considerably behind its counterparts in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Embodying its name ‘Gebeya’ — ‘marketplace’ in Amharic — the startup has played a pivotal role in addressing this talent gap. Initially launched in Ethiopia, Gebeya has progressively expanded its geographical reach, offering services across Africa and beyond.
“We envision Gebeya as more than just a marketplace,” explains Amadou Daffe, co-founder and CEO. “Our mission is to drive the digital economy of East Africa forward by cultivating a sustainable and scalable talent ecosystem.”
In its journey, Gebeya has made strategic moves to bolster its talent pool. In 2018, the company acquired US-based software and consulting firm Coders4Africa (C4A), further expanding its reach. By the end of 2022, Gebeya’s commitment to excellence and innovation was recognized when Daffe was listed among the top ten finalists for Africa Business Heroes.
Gebeya is now set to empower 100 existing tech marketplaces in East Africa via its innovative Marketplace-as-a-Service model. This groundbreaking initiative allows companies to access top-tier developers without the traditional recruitment and management hassles. Gebeya offers three comprehensive service suites: G-Talent for tech talent recruitment, G-Staffing for full-time hires, and G-Made for project-based hires.
Earlier this year, Gebeya secured undisclosed Pre-Series A funding, marking its strategic shift from a conventional tech talent marketplace to a full-fledged provider of marketplaces via its “Marketplace-as-a-Service” model.
“We’re not building these marketplaces from scratch,” explains Daffe. “We’re identifying existing marketplaces driven by solid entrepreneurs and providing the support they need to succeed.”
Indeed, funding remains a significant hurdle for East African entrepreneurs, but Gebeya is set to redirect its funds to reinvest in 100 East African marketplaces. Moreover, the company plans to extend its technical support to assist 1,000 marketplace entrepreneurs across Africa in the coming years, thereby accelerating the African gig economy.
Gebeya has already begun executing this initiative to achieve this goal, forging partnerships and offering marketplace-as-a-service to Lifeline Addis Home-based Healthcare, Eshi Express, Utentic, and YeneHealth, among other pioneer marketplaces.
This initiative is part of Gebeya’s landmark $48 million partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, named Mesirat — “to work” in Amharic. This ambitious program aims to equip 100 entrepreneurs in East Africa with multi-sided gig marketplaces, provide two million young people with market-facing skills, and offer one million job opportunities, 70% of which are targeted towards women.
“In Ethiopia, the economy needs to create close to eight thousand jobs every business day,” according to Bernard Laurendeau, Managing Partner at Laurendeau & Associates, a Mesirat partner. “It is a ticking time bomb that the gig economy can defuse; the diffusion starts today with the Mesirat program.”
Gebeya’s plan to support existing East African marketplaces is an excellent initiative. By bridging the talent gap in the tech industry and equipping entrepreneurs with the skills they need to thrive, Gebeya is helping to create jobs and grow Africa’s economy.
By reinvesting the funds into these entrepreneurs, Gebeya believes that it will scale the Ethiopian gig economy and by extension, Africa’s. “While we are only assisting 100 Ethiopian marketplaces to become like Gebeya currently, we intend to help other entrepreneurs across Africa manage their own marketplaces more effectively using our technology. In the next couple of years, we hope to reach 1000 marketplace entrepreneurs,” Daffe adds.
