Andela becomes unicorn on $200m Series E funding

Andela, a remote-only network for software engineering talent, has raised $200 million in Series E funding to invest in developing products that simplify global hiring and make software 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.

The funding now values Andela at $1.5 billion, making it the fifth African-focused company to become a unicorn in 2021. Andela is also the second company whose funding was led by Softbank that is now in 2021, after OPay.

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Participation was 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.

Launched in Africa in 2014, the Andela network today represents engineers from more than 80 countries and six continents. The company has placed thousands of engineers with leading technology companies including Github, Cloudflare, and ViacomCBS.

“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,” says Jeremy Johnson, CEO, and co-founder of Andela. “If you are a talented engineer, Andela opens up a world of possibilities for you, no matter where you are based.”

Andela has a successful placement rate of 96 percent and 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.

“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,” said Lydia Jett, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “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.”

Agnes Muthoni, director of the Andela Learning Community at Andela says 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.