Zuckerberg, Google back ‘Nigerian’ startup, Andela

Andela, a start-up in Lagos’ Silicon Valley, Yaba, is changing the world, and that change is about to become more profound, with a $24 million funding from one of the world’s youngest billionaires, Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, and Priscilla Chan, his wife, are leading the $24 million investment in Andela for the discovery of technology talents across Africa.

In a blog post on Thursday, Andela disclosed that the Zuckerbergs and Google Venture (GV) were backing in its Series B.

“Some exciting news to start your morning: Today, Andela is publicly announcing our Series B, a $24M round led by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,” Andela said.

“This marks the first time that Mark and Priscilla have led a round and we’re thrilled to welcome them, as well as GV (formerly Google Ventures), to the Andela family.”

Announcing the investment via a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said if he was born elsewhere, he probably would not have founded Facebook, highlighting the need for opportunities in Africa.

“As part of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Priscilla and I are investing in an education company called Andela. We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Andela’s mission is to close that gap.

“I was lucky to be born in a wealthy country where I had access to computers and the internet. If I had been born somewhere else, I’m not sure I would have been able to start Facebook — or at least it would have taken a lot longer and been more difficult.

“The gap between talent and opportunity is among the greatest in Africa. Six out of every ten Africans are under the age of 35 — and in some places, more than half of them are out of work.

“Priscilla and I believe in supporting innovative models of learning wherever they are around the world — and what Andela is doing is pretty amazing.”

Andela was co-founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, 25-year-old Nigerian serial entrepreneur, and a team of bright entrepreneurs, in 2014.

In the past two years, Andela has evolved from a crazy idea into an elite engineering organization of nearly 300 people, spanning three continents.

Today, Andela developers are building products for Google, Facebook and IBM, as well as dozens of fast-growing venture-backed start-ups.

Andela has its base in Lagos, Nairobi and New York, with plans to open in another African country in 2017.