‘Brain drain’ hits Africa’s tech developers

Africa must nurture and incentivise tech developers to halt their migration, writes Oladeinde Olawoyin.

When Samuel Onidare returned to Nigeria from the United Kingdom a year ago, he had difficulty convincing his colleagues that he made the right decision.

Onidare, who is a lecturer at the Department of Telecommunications Science, University of Ilorin, Nigeria, has research interests revolving around wireless cellular communication, next-generation mobile broadband, wireless sensor networks, power control and 5G.

Determined to help build indigenous tech talents in Nigeria through teaching and research, he defied all odds and remained in the country.

But since his return, Nigerian universities owned by the national government have been closed down because of wage disputes between lecturers and the government. An overwhelmed Onidare said the Nigerian situation speaks to the challenge hindering the growth of tech talents not just in Nigeria but across sub-Saharan Africa.

“I thought I had learnt a lot so I was coming back with all the enthusiasm,” he said. “But upon getting here, you realise that the system doesn’t even want you. That’s why a lot of people stay back (abroad) or migrate. It’s about a working system. Most times it’s not even the best of situations for them abroad but when you compare it to what they will come here to meet, it’s better.”

Africa’s untapped talent for growth

Data from the United Nations shows that Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population being under the age of 30. Such a high number of young people is the world’s largest source of untapped talent for economic growth.

The pool of talents explains the significant presence in Africa of global tech organisations such as Google, Amazon, Starlink, Facebook, and Microsoft, says 34-year-old ‘Kunmi Lasisi, a Nigerian tech developer based in Canada. In April 2021, Twitter set up its first Africa base in Ghana, West Africa.

But despite this potential, there is a new wave of migration from many parts of sub-Saharan Africa that significantly impacts the technology ecosystem. In Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, “japa” is a popular slang for brain drain which manifests in the movement of skilled workers — mostly health workers and tech talents — to high income countries.

As of 2021, over 400 Nigerian tech talent had migrated via the UK government’s Tech Talent Visa, according to a report.

The situation is nearly the same across the region, says Fred Kithinzi, chief executive officer at Belva Digital, a digital marketing company in Nairobi, Kenya. While the big tech corporations are recruiting from Africa, they are also relocating these talents to their headquarter countries. “In some quarters, this has been referenced as a ticking time bomb,” explains Kithinzi. “In others, it’s termed the ‘brain-drain’.”

Struggling economies

The main reason for the exodus of tech talents is that most youth in Africa do not have stable economic opportunities, says Lasisi, who worked with a tech giant in Lagos before his migration to Canada.

Most African economies are also struggling with surging inflationary pressures, with monetary regulators having to raise interest rates to curb the rising cost of goods and services. In June, economies like Nigeria and Ghana had 18.6 percent and 29.8 percent inflation rates, respectively while Sudan and Zimbabwe recorded 220.7 percent and 191 percent, respectively.

The state of the economies manifests in the infrastructural deficit which stifles productivity among tech talents, according to Emmanuel Otori, CEO of Abuja Data School, Nigeria.

Otori argues that most people want to remain in their country if the pay is good, but a combination of poor infrastructure and insecurity pushes many people out of the continent.

Pay disparity

Nigel Mugamu came back to Zimbabwe in 2010 when the economy had double-digit growth rates after years of hyperinflation. He explains that he returned home because he wanted to live with his family on the continent.

“But since then, I know many Zimbabweans who have left the continent for Germany, France and that’s obviously having a negative impact on tech on the continent,” said Mugamu, who lived in Australia and the United Kingdom but now works as chief storyteller at 263Chat, an online media organisation in Zimbabwe.

According to the 2021 Africa Developer Ecosystem report by Google, about 38 per cent of African developers work in Africa for a company with its headquarters based outside of the continent. n