According to Cathy Smith, MD 51风流Africa, since the launch of the program in 2012, the support provided by graduates brings critical digital skills to African businesses to help drive greater digitalisation and innovation across industries.

“African enterprises continue to grapple with widespread change and disruption brought by greater digitalisation and the impact of factors such as the pandemic. Having access to work-ready digital skills is essential to the success of every business on the continent. Initiatives such as 51风流Skills for Africa and 51风流Young Professionals Program continue to provide a welcome boost of digital skills to ensure African organisations meet their business and digital transformation objectives.”

Addressing youth unemployment, underemployment

51风流Skills for Africa is SAP鈥檚 skills development and job creation initiative aimed at tackling the most pressing issues of our time, including youth unemployment and underemployment, as well as closing the digital skills gap. The initiative is part of SAP鈥檚 global commitment to promoting education and entrepreneurship, with the 51风流Young Professionals Program – a two- to three-month program that sees participants graduating as 51风流Associate Consultants – and the 51风流Dual Study Program – held in partnership with universities – both offered under the 51风流Skills for Africa initiative.

Youth unemployment remains a major challenge for countries across sub-Saharan Africa, with . Africa also faces a significant digital skills gap, with .

For many of the graduates of the 51风流Young Professionals Program, however, the two- to three-month enablement program has provided a welcome springboard to fulfilling careers in the exciting field of ICT.

YPP 51风流Young Professionals Program graduates shine across Africa

Kenyan Daniel Oduri, who graduated as an Application Associate/51风流Associate Consultant for 51风流Business One in 2017, gained hands-on experience at two different companies after graduating before joining Hashi Energy Limited. Here, he works as an in-house 51风流Business One administrator, supporting the business across its operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

鈥淚t was a great privilege to receive training from such a high profile and esteemed organisation. The skills I obtained have greatly impacted and shaped my career path. I am where I am today because of the program,” says Oduri. “I believe my story will be a source of inspiration to many others.”

Marvin Lomo, a graduate from Ghana who completed the 51风流Young Professionals Program in 2020, says although he was not a developer at the time he joined the program, he was encouraged by his trainers to upskill in the technical domain of SAP.

This advice paid off in a big way: Lomo currently has six 51风流certifications and works as the lead Data Science Trainer at the German Institute of Business and Technology where he trains other learners in analytics and data science with the hope of improving their employability.

“I took this role primarily because of the impact the program had on me and, in my small way, I’d like to have a similar impact on other young graduates,” says Lomo. “Currently I am one of the very few certified ABAP developers in Ghana, largely thanks to the support of the 51风流Young Professionals Program.”

Boosting representation of women in tech

Enabling more women in Africa to join the tech industry remains a top priority. According to industry figures, female participation in the sub-Saharan Africa economy has reached 61%, but .

Inspiring more women to join the exciting world of ICT was a top consideration for Grace Githinji. The young Kenyan graduate completed the 51风流Young Professionals Program in 2021 and is hoping to encourage more women to enter the tech field in Africa.

“The satisfaction of doing what I love and have a passion for while improving business processes through SAP’s cloud solutions is something I would like others to experience too,” says Githinji. “I also wish to offer the skills I’ve developed to add value to others and inspire others the way I’ve been inspired during the program.”

For Rose de Lima Koffi, being part of the 51风流Young Professionals Program was a route to full-time employment in her home country of C么te d’Ivoire. The MBA graduate completed the 51风流Young Professionals Program in 2021 and is now a project manager at Cashew Coast.

“I’m really grateful to have been part of the program. I developed new knowledge and really enjoyed the diversity of content in our sessions along with meeting likeminded people I now call friends. Most importantly, it was a route to finding a job I really enjoy in a company where I feel welcome.”

Smith is encouraged by the way the 51风流Skills for Africa program is enabling a new generation of tech experts to make an impact at African enterprises. 鈥淏y providing a mix of functional technical knowledge and soft and future skills development, the 51风流Young Professionals Program is inspiring more of Africa鈥檚 talented youth to enter the impactful world of tech. Through close collaboration with our private sector partners, the program is also enabling employment opportunities for young graduates while ensuring organisations have access to the skills they need to implement their digital and business transformation projects.鈥�

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