Africa-focused tech talent accelerator Andela <\/a>has let go 135 employees, CEO Jeremy Johnson confirmed to TechCrunch.<\/p>\n Senior staff at the company — with offices in New York and four African countries — will also take salary cuts of 10% to 30%.<\/p>\n The compensation and staff reductions are a result of the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and bring Andela’s <\/a> headcount down to 1,199 employees. None of Andela’s engineers were included in the layoffs.<\/p>\n Backed by $181 million in VC<\/a> from investors that include the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the startup’s client-base is comprised of more than 200 global companies that pay for the African developers Andela selects to work on projects.<\/p>\n There’s been a drop in the demand for Andela’s services, according to its CEO.<\/p>\n “The vast majority of our customers have stayed with us. But new business has slowed down dramatically,” Johnson told TechCrunch on a call.<\/p>\n “Like any venture-backed startup, we’re built for growth. And so if growth is gonna slow dramatically, your [cost] burden has to come down.”<\/p>\n The company is also preparing for the possibility of hard economic times moving forward.<\/p>\n “We already know this is going to have a material impact on pace of growth. And as a result of that, we’ve got to make sure we’re prepared to weather the storm,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n The American CEO noted the latest measures weren’t entirely due to external factors. They also connect to a strategic direction change for the company, the details of which will follow, according to Johnson.<\/p>\n Andela’s staff cuts mark the first notable round of layoffs in African tech coming from one of the continent’s best funded and most visible startups (by press volume<\/a>).<\/p>\n The company launched in 2014 with co-founders who included Nigerian entrepreneur Iyinoluwa Aboyeji <\/a>and American Christina Sass. Aboyeji has since departed and Sass stepped down as Andela president in 2019, but maintains an advisory role with the company.<\/p>\n In Africa, Andela has offices in Nigeria, Kenya, <\/a>Rwanda and Uganda. The company cut 400 junior engineers in September, but that announcement came with news it had attained a $50 million run rate<\/a> as a Series D startup.<\/p>\n News of Andela’s recent layoffs broke late afternoon Lagos time<\/a> on Tuesday, after CEO Jeremy Johnson announced the cuts on an all-hands staff call.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tags:<\/b> Jake Bright<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Africa-focused tech talent accelerator Andela has let go 135 employees, CEO Jeremy Johnson confirmed to TechCrunch. Senior staff at the company — with offices in New York and four African countries — will also take salary cuts of 10% to 30%. The compensation and staff reductions are a result of the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis … Continue reading Andela CEO confirms staff cuts as layoffs hit African tech<\/span><\/a> Continue Reading ![\"Andela](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Andela-Nigeria-Office.jpg\")
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