This partnership will further A2SV's mission of breaking down
barriers and increasing educational and professional opportunities
for students across Africa.
ADDIS
ABABA, Ethiopia, May 6, 2024
/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Africa to
Silicon Valley (A2SV), a leading international organization
training African university students to have better access to
career opportunities and create tech-driven local solutions for
their local communities, is working to expand in 2024 with generous
support from Google.
The nonprofit will utilize new funding to broaden software
engineering and technical training for university students across
more African countries and to develop impactful initiatives like
their annual continent-wide hackathon. A2SV currently collaborates
with local universities in Ethiopia and Ghana to identify aspiring tech professionals,
provide pathways for industry networking and offer a free and
rigorous curriculum for students to receive hands-on technical
training and develop digitally innovative projects to address
pressing regional challenges. Through a unique and innovative
approach of prioritizing depth over breadth, A2SV highlights the
importance of nontraditional education and experiential learning
when supporting a new generation of tech talent.
With the ongoing partnership with Google, A2SV has connected 13
students with internship opportunities and 16 students with
full-time positions at the company. Alongside Google, other 28
placements of internships and full-time employment positions
include Bloomberg, Amazon and Palantir to jumpstart their
engineering careers. A2SV aims to expand to additional countries in
Africa with the hope of giving
more students a chance to succeed in the tech industry and use
their technical skills to better their communities.
"The A2SV program was a pivotal chapter in my life. It equipped
me with the skills and confidence to tackle complex tech
challenges, and I continue to use these skills to this day as a
Google engineer," says Tadele Y.
Tekalign, A2SV alumnus and software engineer at the Google
AI Research Center in Ghana. "I am
currently working on Google's flood forecasting initiative which is
critical technology for preventing natural disasters in
Africa and globally. A2SV
propelled me to a new level of success, and I'm proud to be
contributing to the digital solutions transforming the
continent."
Since its founding, A2SV has trained over 500 students in
foundational tech skills, employed 142 of them to run its
operations, connected 57 students with software engineering
opportunities at leading tech companies, and driven 5 active social
impact community projects through innovative tech solutions.
"We are grateful for our partners like Google who believe in the
potential of our students and make this work possible," said
Emre Varol, founder and CEO of A2SV.
"With the industry becoming increasingly competitive, our work is
more important than ever. A2SV is building a world where African
students can have the opportunities to grow and succeed in tech
regardless of their backgrounds, and I'm incredibly proud of
that."
In the past year alone, A2SV hosted the largest hackathon in
Africa with over 3,700
participants across 47 countries, where the top 9 teams were flown
to Ethiopia for an
all-expense-paid 5-day in-person event. Participants competed to
address unique challenges in their communities through tech-led
initiatives for a total prize pool of $30,000. Generative AI-themed Hackathon provided
students with the resources to unlock the power of AI and use it to
tackle Africa's most pressing
challenges.
"We are proud to support A2SV's impactful initiatives training
students from across Africa and
connecting them to leading tech companies," said Yossi Matias, VP Engineering & Research and
executive lead of the Google AI Research Center in Ghana and Nairobi. "Talent is everywhere and Google is
committed to helping provide more opportunities, fostering
diversity and expanding access to tech education. This grant is
part of our broader efforts to help break barriers, providing
students from across the continent with the tools to thrive, from
the very first interview (an important part of the process), and
until their integration into the ever-evolving world of
technology."
For media inquiries regarding A2SV, please contact Cecilia Apodaca at (212) 337-8870 or
cecilia@thetascgroup.com.
About A2SV
A2SV is an international nonprofit working to bridge the gap
between students across African countries and Big Tech. With the
tech industry becoming increasingly competitive, the nonprofit is
on a mission to provide opportunities for talented software
engineers to grow their careers, learn from industry experts and
use this knowledge to better their local communities through
digital innovation. A2SV currently partners with universities in
Africa to provide students with
free training and pathways for internships in leading tech
companies including Google and Bloomberg. Their annual
continent-wide Hackathon further aims to diversify the industry by
encouraging youth to address unique challenges in their communities
through tech-led initiatives. To learn more about the organization,
visit their website a2sv.org.
Media Contact
Cecilia Apodaca, A2SV, 1
9702370440, cecilia@thetascgroup.com, https://a2sv.org/
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SOURCE A2SV