African Tech Founders Are Losing Employees to American, Canadian Dream, Investor Says
- Big tech companies from western countries are poaching talents from African startup
- The poaching activities by foreign companies are affecting African tech companies' operation and growth
- African tech founders have been advised by an investor, Victor Asemota, to sell their companies to big tech firms
African startups are losing their talents to big tech companies and this is affecting their operation and growth. Big tech companies consist of foreign companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, Stripe and more.
These companies are offering employees of African tech startups the chance of relocating from Africa or earning in dollars - African founders are finding it difficult to compete against these incentives.
This was stated by tech investor, Victor Asemota, who said big tech interest in African talents has become a systemic problem that is affecting everyone, stating that the pandemic played a role in opening the door for talent poaching.
Asemota said the best way African tech startups can survive the poaching is to sell their companies to these big tech through exits. He made this known in a Twitter thread:
"I think burnout by African founders is a bigger risk to investors than just failure by other means. Spoke to a founder earlier this year who was tired of losing people, hiring, and losing them again. His entire team has changed in a year except for him. Most hired by big tech."
Talents that big techs are poaching
He stated that the tech corporations are interested in developers and those in UX and design.
"Anyone who solves the talent problem for African tech startups will be a very rich person. Developers aren't the only ones leaving. The biggest hit suddenly from my observation is in UX and design.
"Big tech is now laser focused on Africa. This is a systemic problem and everyone is suffering it. The pandemic made it easier for people to hire for remote jobs. Diversity needs by those big tech companies is accelerating it."
Source: Twitter
Acquire or sell
Asemota said big tech companies should either acquire startups or African founders should sell to them to ease the operational difficulty of competing for talents with foreign firms.
"I don't know why these big tech companies don't just do African acquihires instead of gutting companies. If you are a founder struggling with talent issues, start planning to sell to someone bigger so that you can at least have a fighting chance. Stripe and others should buy more.
"Try to reach out to big tech corp dev before recruiters reach out to your staff. A word is too much for the wise. So-called”scouts” should be doing this linking instead of doing VC grunt work. I would gladly help with intros to corp dev/M&A free. I want to see more exits."
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Governor of Niger State, Sanni Bello, risks six months jail term and a financial fine after footage was released showing him breaching Central Bank of Nigeria rule.
The CBN Act 2007 had stated that no person should be seen mutilating, dancing, tearing, squeezing, stumping, stapling, engraving, writing on the naira.
Bello was seen dancing on the naira and stepping on the Nigerian currency, while some around him were spraying the naira on him at a party.
Source: Legit.ng
