What is Zwarttech?
Zwarttech is a Dutch Startup that connects Senior IT Experts in Africa, with companies across the developed world on a remote basis.
Founded in 2020, it is a rapidly growing Startup, with global offices already in Nigeria, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, and The United States.
What problem does Zwarttech solve?
For African IT Specialists, Zwarttech is a door to international market opportunities that they usually have limited or no access to. Africa outsourcing to Europe is a trend in its infancy, largely because of a lack of connections, middlemen and established networks.
For companies in the developed world, there is a massive IT talent shortage. By providing Senior Software Experts & Cybersecurity Specialist at affordable prices, Zwarttech aims to ensure a win-win on both sides, by delivering services including:
- Outstaffing
- Outsourcing
Why now?
In his famous TED speech, Bill Gross asserted that “Timing is the single biggest reason why start-ups succeed.”
For Zwarttech, much success has undoubtedly been driven by a worldwide surge in IT Outsourcing, prompted by the COVID-19 Pandemic, as more and more companies rely on digital tools and reply to a whole new host of customers demands.
However, other underlying factors should not be forgotten. First and foremost, the issue of a talent gap between Africa and the developed world is one that has existed for many years, with or without a worldwide pandemic. The rise of Africa outsourcing globally was always inevitable.
A Startup with a Mission
As a social enterprise Startup, Zwarttech operates as a profitable business, while also giving back at the same time. It does this by giving remote work opportunities to thousands of Senior IT Experts & Cybersecurity Specialists across Africa, which in turn benefits tens of thousands of people in their local economies, most of all family and friends.
Through remote work, Zwarttech also aspires to reduce the “brain drain” of African emigrants moving abroad, by keeping African talent in Africa. Many Africans want to stay in Africa with their spouses and children, so the opportunity to stay at home while working for companies abroad can be a very attractive one, especially as most Africans who work abroad never return to live and work in their home country again.
When Africans are employed by Zwarttech, they normally receive a 40% increase on their previous salary, which makes many of them the top earners in their countries, enabling wide-ranging and sustainable growth.
Finally, Zwarttech also manages a non-profit called The Zwart Talent Foundation, which consists of Zwart Academy (ZA), Zwart Recruit (ZR), and Zwart Entrepreneurial Hub (ZEH).
The foundation was founded with the aim of empowering youths to seize global opportunities, while boosting the local economy and educating more than 2,000 students in five years. The academy also aims to provide world-class education and training to students in small interactive groups in the Netherlands, Nicaragua, and Nigeria. From highly experienced on-field Senior IT engineers to state-of-the-art classrooms, the Academy is all set to empower youths to compete in the global IT market.
Words from the Founder
Originally from Nigeria, Nelson T. Ajulo is the founder of both Zwarttech and The TBEC Group of Companies, a Dutch investment company with a diverse portfolio in Fintech solutions, media and entertainment, marketing and advertising, health and fitness, education, logistics, and supply chain, tourism and hospitality, and Information Technology.
According to Nelson, Africa is ideally placed to work with European Startups in particular, given that Africa and Europe share the same time zones. This means any African Senior engineer with full potential and skills, can work in real-time with European companies located further north of the equator. Culturally, he says, both Dutch and Nigerian people are very straightforward and similar in ways, which has resulted in a perfect beginning for his Hague-based Startup.
At present, Africa outsourcing worldwide is not something we often hear of, with the continent falling way behind countries like India and The Philippines when it comes to being a base for freelancers. However, Nelson states it is a “sleeping giant” which is seeing more and more attention and investment from big corporations as time goes by.
“We bridge the gap between Africa’s IT Experts and businesses in Europe. We empower the African experts by building infrastructure for them, and we also mitigate risk and promote trust.
So, you can be well rest-assured that there is nothing for you to worry about. Just focus on the win of costs, the win of saving time on vigorous European recruitment processes, the win of access to scarce resources, and the win of having highly-skilled, professional, reliable and diverse Senior IT experts in your group.”
Nelson T. Ajulo, Founder of Zwarttech and The TBEC Group of Companies
To know more about Zwarttech, visit their website here!
Nelson will be speaking at The Dutch Startup Conference 2021, this October. Click here for more information and free tickets.