Why more Africans should be blockchain developers
Blockchain which is one of the new disruptive technologies of the internet is definitely here to stay. However, the talent to build out these solutions are scarce and even unavailable in some places, especially in Africa.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is the underlying technology behind Bitcoin and is an immutable digital ledger that records transactions. It is immutable in the sense that it has a “write-only” feature and entries into the ledger cannot be altered. The blockchain is also a decentralized network meaning that there are many copies of the blockchain called nodes which all need to agree (consensus) before any change or update is made to the network. The decentralized nature and consensus mechanisms of the blockchain ensure there’s a single source of truth and no single point of failure. The blockchain also uses hashing functions, public/private key cryptography and digital signatures to secure transactions making the network impervious to fraud. Even though Bitcoin has been the most popular use case for blockchain and involves cryptographically recording financial transactions, there are many other use cases for blockchain ranging from identity, healthcare, supply chain and many others.
What are smart contracts?
A smart contract is code that is written and stored on a blockchain which runs exactly as programmed without being prone to error, fraud, downtime or third-party interference. Smart contracts enable developers to write code that can transfer funds based on logic written into the code from the past (like a will); design tokens; fund projects through a crowdsale and build various types of decentralized applications called dApps. Platforms that can be used to write smart contracts include Ethereum, EOS, Hyperledger, Corda and more. Smart contracts’ automatic execution of code with the benefits of blockchain listed above make them superior, reliable and more secure than many existing systems. This is why many large enterprises are building or planning to build blockchain projects hence the high demand for blockchain developers.
Blockchain adoption and demand for blockchain developers
A lot of governments and organisations around the world are exploring the use of blockchain technology for a variety of use cases — birth and death registrations, digital IDs, data management, voting, land registry, finance, tourism, to mention a few. A recent report by CB Insights identified 80+ major corporations, governments and non-profits working on blockchain projects. This includes organisations in technology (Facebook, Google, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle), Banking (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Barclays, UBS), Shipping and Logistics (Maersk, UPS, FedEx), Oil and Gas (Petroteq), Retail (Walmart, Kroger, Dole), Insurance (Allianz, AXA, Swiss Re), Healthcare (Pfizer, United Healthcare, Quest Diagnostics, Roche), Government (Switzerland, Chile, Singapore,Venezuela, Sweden, Brazil, Dubai), and more.
As a result of this interest in the blockchain, there is an increasing demand for blockchain developers. According to a TechCrunch article, “Blockchain-related jobs are the second-fastest growing in today’s labour market”. In another report, by the job search site, Hired, data from their marketplace reveals that; “…global demand for blockchain engineers is through the roof, at a 517% increase year over year.” Thanks to this demand, blockchain developers are currently one of the highest paid software developers in the world with a median salary of $127,000 and experienced developers earning as much as $172,000.
Why we need blockchain developers in Africa
While statistics on the increasing demand and salary of blockchain developers can be enticing and presents employment opportunities for Africa’s young population, the most exciting part is the impact blockchain technology can have on moving the continent forward. In a previous post, I indicated how the Ethereum developer program for Africa could help solve unemployment and other challenges that Africa faces.
In the coming years, blockchain will be a major driver in the next shift in technological innovation. Countries in Africa stand to benefit from this shift more than other nations because most of Africa has a greenfield in banking, finance, health and other legacy infrastructure. Africa has a unique opportunity to leapfrog in many areas and develop new infrastructure and use cases to power the future. For these solutions to exist, they need to be built by Africans. While blockchain technology provides a tool for solving some major problems in Africa, we need to develop the skill required to build those solutions.
By 2050, Africa will have the largest population of young people under 25 and this will be nearly twice the population of young people in South Asia (Gates Foundation). It is therefore estimated that the majority of the world’s workforce will be on the continent. The Gates Foundation Goalkeepers report further states that young people in Africa are the activists, innovators, leaders and workers of the future and stresses the need to invest in them.
Young Africans have the opportunity to upskill themselves now and prepare for the future. Other continents including Asia will not be able to meet the global demand for software developers and particularly blockchain developers as the figure above shows. There is, therefore, a unique opportunity for Africans to get skilled at the same rate and pace as the rest of the world so they’ll remain competitive in our fast-paced world! The answers to the issues of Africa are not the same as the ones in the West or Asia so we need developers that understand the region to solve our unique problems
The Africa Blockchain Developer Program
In February 2019, Africa Blockchain Alliance announced the launch of Africa Blockchain Developer Program in partnership with ConsenSys Academy, the educational arm of ConsenSys, a market leading blockchain technology company. The target is to train at least 1,000 blockchain developers in Africa by 2020.
The program, which is mostly online with in-person sessions in select cities, will give developers in Africa access to ConsenSys Academy’s Developer course at a discounted rate. Developers on the course will have access to dedicated mentors who will have weekly office hours with them for 1 to 2 hours per week and answer their questions daily. Developers will also have unlimited access to an online forum with over 2,000 developers who are all current and past developers trained by Consensys Academy. The program will run for a period of 11 to 12 weeks (approximately 3 months) starting from March 2019. On successful completion of the program, graduates will be issued certificates on the Ethereum blockchain and given the opportunity to work on blockchain projects in Africa and around the world. If you are a developer in Africa interested in blockchain, you should register for this program here.
Since we started registration for the program, we have received a lot of emails from people who are keen to participate in the program but needed more time to register. We have therefore extended the deadline to enable more people to participate. As a result, registration will now be open until the 15th of March 2019. This will make the official start date of the program 18th of March 2019.
In addition to offering the program at a discounted cost, we have also set up a fund to sponsor a limited number of developers for the program. If you are interested in the program and believe you have what it takes to do exceptionally well, you can apply for the sponsorship here.
For organisations interested in joining hands with ABA in our mission to train 1,000 developers in Africa by 2020, please reach out to us on developer@afriblockchain.org.
In the coming days, we’ll be sharing human stories of developers who have gone through the ConsenSys academy developer program and how this program has positively impacted their lives. We will also be sharing stories of developers in Africa who have upskilled themselves on blockchain technology and are solving unique African problems using blockchain. Finally, we will be hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) video call with these developers to answer questions that other developers intending to venture into the blockchain space may have.
We look forward to welcoming our Pan African cohort onboard. They’ll have access to some of the best minds in blockchain globally and in Africa, collaborating with each other across borders and building out great solutions to move our continent forward. We can’t wait! There’s excitement in the air!
