Nigeria: Andela receives U.S. Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence

Nigeria’s Andela has received the U.S. Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). The startup, which specialises in software development is  based in Nigeria and Kenya.  The award was established in 1999 to recognize companies that best represent American values in their business practices worldwide.

Presenting the award to the Andela group in Lagos Stuart Symington, said Andela  which recruits and trains software developers, connecting them with employers globally was not only in business for profit making but to influence future change for sustainable human improvement.

In a message posted on the U.S. embassy website in Nigeria Symington said,“Of all businesses in the world today, there are businesses doing their best, not just to make money, but to change lives. They are generating employment and transforming lives,”

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“In the small and medium size category last year, the global winner of the secretary of state award for corporate excellence was you guys. For all of you here, I know this is your success as head of operations, people and culture and everybody else”.

The congratulatory statement further states: “This is Andela’s day and let me say congratulations; global victory, Nigeria’s number one, Andela Nigeria. The enterprise, the innovation, the spirit of Nigeria, the learning, the connecting, means that the world ahead of Nigeria is an extraordinary one”.

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This award also included winners in other categories such as General Electric, McDonald’s Deutschland, Bureo, Interface, and Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. The past winners of the U.S . Secretary of State Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) award iclude: The Coca-Cola Company, Intel, TOMS Shoes, and Procter & Gamble.

The mission of Andela in Software development

Andela is a software developing company with tech engineering teams with world-class software developers. The company recrutes the most talented developers on the African continent, shape them into technical leaders, and places them as team members with companies that range from Microsoft and IBM to dozens of high-growth startups.

https://twitter.com/Andela_Nigeria/status/835125677640806406

The company is backed by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV (Google Ventures) and Spark Capital, in its journey building the next generation of global technology leaders.

Connecting the trained developers with potential employers worldwide

Besides training the untapped talented potential software developers and tech-engineers, Andela connects the skills with potential employers.

According to Andela, Africa has the youngest, fastest-growing population on earth, with more people joining the labour force over the next 20 years than the rest of the world combined. By connecting top employers to the brightest individuals on the African continent, Andela provides a bridge to close the talent gap while investing in the smartest, most creative minds in software development.