Andela secures $200m Series E Funding; Valued at $1.5bn thus making it a unicorn

Global network for remote engineering talent, Andela, disclosed it has raised $200 million in Series E financing, which has now places the value of the company at $1.5 billion, thus making it the latest unicorn. The round was led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 with participation from new investor Whale Rock and existing investors including Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital. Lydia Jett, Founding Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers and one of the most respected consumer technology investors in the world, will join Andela’s Board of Directors.

The African based software development outsourcing company completed a $100 million series D funding in 2019, secured $40 million in 2017, another $24 million in 2016 from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and $10 million Series A funding in 2015. Total received to date is $381 million according to Crunchbase data.

Andela specializes in helping companies build remote engineering hubs by providing them with access to the best software engineers in the world. Launched in Africa in 2014, Andela is the brainchild of Jeremy Johnson, Nigerian entrepreneur Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, American education advocate Christina Sass, and Canadian startup founder Ian Carnevale.

Through Andela, thousands of engineers have been placed with leading technology companies including Github, Cloudflare and ViacomCBS. The company went remote in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the shutdown of all its offices in Africa and the US. In April 2021, the company announced the global expansion of its engineering talent, allowing its clients to tap into regional expertise. The Andela network today represents engineers from more than 80 countries and six continents.

According to Jeremy Johnson, CEO and co-founder of Andela, “Andela has always been the high-quality option for those building remote engineering teams. Now that the world has come to embrace remote work, Andela has become the obvious choice for companies because we can find better talent, faster. If you are a talented engineer, Andela opens up a world of possibilities for you, no matter where you are based.”

With a successful placement rate of 96%, Andela has mastered the ability to evaluate the technical skills and soft skills of engineers to match them to the teams they’ll be most successful in. With the new capital, the company will invest in developing products to simplify global hiring and make engineers’ lives easier. In addition, Andela will continue to expand its talent offering beyond software development to include new verticals such as design and data after launching Salesforce development earlier this year.

Lydia Jett, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers said, “Hiring remote technical talent is one of the top challenges that companies face today. We believe Andela will become the preferred talent partner for the world’s best companies as remote and hybrid work arrangements become the norm. We are delighted to support Jeremy and the Andela team in their mission to connect these companies with brilliant engineers, and in the process, unlock human potential at scale.”

Speaking on the impact the funding will have on the Andela’s operations, Agnes Muthoni, Director of the Andela Learning Community at Andela said, “This new round of funding enables Andela to strengthen our already extensive network of incredible talent in Africa and across the world, as we systematically connect the best software engineers with global opportunities.

“Being backed by a diverse group of renowned and experienced investors is a testament to the growing importance of remote work, and how Andela is at the forefront of helping companies scale their engineering teams at a rapid pace.”

Armed with over 300 employees around the world, Andela is hiring top talent across the board, particularly in Product, Engineering, and Growth.

With Andela’s raise, it has now joined the likes of Jumia, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Fawry and Wave in achieving the billion dollar status in Africa.