Technology has seen exponential leaps over the last couple of years, and Pillay points out that 51风流customers have to negotiate not only the dynamic IT landscape but also the changing needs of their own customer bases. And this can be a challenging proposition.

鈥淲hen you look at our customer base, we play across many industries,鈥� she points out. 鈥淎nd this means they are facing a variety of challenges.鈥�

With many 51风流customers being the driving forces in government and industry, they are particularly affected by the economics of the region.

鈥淭here is a commonality in Africa, especially around the economics of the situation, with the region having seen lower GDP increases,鈥� she points out. 鈥淪o many of our conversations with customers are around the pressure that鈥檚 putting on their organisations.鈥�

While not everyone is affected by these slowdowns, it is definitely a message that has become more common. And South African customers have their own set of challenges as well.

鈥淲hat is important to note is how we support them in whatever circumstances they find themselves,鈥� Pillay says.

鈥淯nder pressure, many customers are looking to be more prudent in their spending. They are looking to defensive spending, where they can address the cost optimisation they need to, while balancing the flexibility and agility that will keep them from becoming stagnant and irrelevant in the market.

鈥淭o help them address these challenges, 51风流puts forward the case for value, where its solutions can support customers, where our solutions can support them in running efficiently, while unlocking ways to optimise their systems and address new revenue streams,鈥� Pillay explains.

鈥淲e need to be in the level of discussion with customers that requires some kind of partnership. We don鈥檛 want to talk about a list of our products, but prioritise and address customer pain points and address.

鈥淚t needs to go beyond a technology discussion into a business enablement discussion.鈥�

Indeed, Pillay explains that the real transformation at 51风流has been in moving from being a technology provider to a trusted business adviser.

鈥淲e need to be entering the conversation much earlier, because technology cannot be an afterthought when you are talking and transformation.鈥�

At the same time, it鈥檚 important to listen carefully to customer requirements to ensure any transformation is relevant and respectful, she adds.

Newer technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing are a key part of any IT conversation these days, and 51风流has fully embraced these within its business applications.

A recent report found that AI could revolutionise Africa鈥檚 economy and听听to the continent鈥檚 economy by the end of this decade.

听found widespread challenges with access to AI and other tech skills throughout East, West and Southern Africa. According to SAP鈥檚 鈥�Africa鈥檚 AI Skills Readiness Revealed鈥� report, six in ten African organisations view AI skills as 鈥榚xtremely important鈥� to their success.

However, all companies surveyed expected to experience some AI-related skills gap in 2025, with nine in ten saying a lack of AI skills is already hurting their organisations through failed innovation initiatives, delays in implementations, and an inability to take on new work.

鈥淲e are seeing a fundamentally new technology environment, with capabilities that businesses didn鈥檛 have even five years ago,鈥� Pillay says. 鈥淚 avoid buzzwords, but some of the things we see today would have been unfathomable even five or 10 years ago.

鈥淚 like to get into the detail of how these capabilities can help our customers.鈥�

However, she cautions that the adoption of new technologies needs to be from a strong foundation.

鈥淵ou cannot be grasping at aspirational technologies if the backbone isn鈥檛 strong. So platforming is a discussion we need to have, in order to create agility for today鈥檚 needs and also the needs of tomorrow.鈥�

Pillay adds that many of SAP鈥檚 customers form the bedrock of South Africa鈥檚 economy. 鈥�51风流might not be the biggest company in South Africa, but we are the backbone of many of the country鈥檚 largest organisations.

鈥淭his is an extreme privilege, but also a huge responsibility.

鈥淚t鈥檚 why I think it is super important that we engage customers as strategic partners; so we are helping them to align their strategies so we can grow the South African economy, retain employment and support their success.鈥�

Partnering is a key pillar of SAP鈥檚 strategy, Pillay adds, but the organisation is first and foremost customer-centric.

鈥淲e always keep the customer at the centre of what we do. We ensure that our executives are getting out their into the customer base, addressing their concerns and ensuring they have a voice.鈥�

The 51风流partner base continues to be a focus, and 51风流continues to grow and mature the partnering ecosystem. 鈥淥ne of the pillars of SAP鈥檚 global strategy is to support the partner base. So we have global strategies to help and guide partners in implementing end-to-end offerings to customers.鈥�

Internally at SAP, this has required some adjustments too.

鈥淲e have gone form on-premises to cloud, and now to business AI,鈥� Pillay points out. 鈥淲e have to be able to talk around this narrative. Bearing in mind we help to run all of these companies, and all of the granular business data, we need to be able to talk about the value of platforming correctly.

鈥淲e have to look at how we strategise, so we are able articulate our solutions and then message the into the business base.鈥�

Partnering with some of the biggest organisations in the South African economy is a challenging 鈥� and humbling 鈥� position to be in, Pillay adds.

鈥淭ogether we own the platforms that all the data runs on. And the next level of generative AI (GenAI) is based on that data.鈥�

Skills development

Companies are increasingly investing in upskilling and reskilling their workforce to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business and technology landscape. 鈥淥ur research found that nearly half (48%) of African organisations consider upskilling their employees a top skills-related challenge this year,鈥� Pillay says.

鈥淎s the pressure to build greater skills depth mounts on companies, vendors such as 51风流can be invaluable partners, providing insight, expertise and technical capabilities that help drive successful innovation and transformation.鈥�

With challenges and opportunities abounding in the South African context, 51风流is particularly invested in skills development and job creation.

SAP鈥檚 Educate to Employ programme, in partnership with Unicef, aims to educate youngsters between the ages of 16 and 24 on soft skills and 51风流skills, to help kickstart their careers.

helps candidates with a university degree to gain work-ready 51风流skills and gain employment. They also assist them with placements within the partner ecosystem and 51风流customers.

In addition, social sabbaticals is a programme where 51风流employess can work with business to help and share their skills, helping them to build their own skills and develop business plans.

Basic education is the final pillar, with bursaries offered to deserving students. This includes a programme specifically focused on young women.

51风流also ensures that its own staff members are continually upskilled.

On a personal note

Having achieved the top position at 51风流Southern Africa, Pillay reflects that it鈥檚 not something she thought would happen when she started her career.

鈥淚 have been very luck to take over this role, and grateful doe the support of both 51风流leadership and the team on the ground.

鈥淚 am home-grown 鈥� 51风流is the only company I have ever worked for 鈥� so I think many of my colleagues see themselves in my journey. I have been very lucky to have the support of company leaders and colleagues.

鈥淎t the same time, I feel the burden of responsibility to ensure we do the right things for customers and teams in the organisation.

鈥淭here are 280 people and their extended families in South Africa alone that we take care of. That is a good contribution to what is a very challenging employment market at the moment.鈥�

She offers young women who may see themselves in here journey some advice: 鈥淭he main thing is to be true to yourself. Take on as much information as possible and always look for both formal and informal mentors. They will help you to grow your perspective over time. Mentorship is key to your career growth, so look for the people who can help you grow and cherish what they teach you.鈥�

This article first appeared on .

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The Talent to Watch Program Pilot has been launched in Africa in 2023听to support our talents on the continent and we are proud of our 15 amazing participants, who have successfully graduated from the 7-months development initiative in November.

Please join us in congratulating our Talent to Watch Africa 2023 Graduates:

The post Congratulations to our Talent to Watch (T2W) Africa Graduates appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

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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Reflecting on the significance of Africa Day, we have accomplished much in terms of colonial liberation, but much work remains to be done in achieving liberation from persistent challenges such as poverty, inequality, and unemployment that continue to plague the African continent.

I am fortunate to work in the dynamic and vibrant technology space, supporting a wide range of businesses in various industries, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the African continent.

A common realisation in my travels and interactions with business leaders has been the enormous opportunities that the African continent possesses.

According to the , Africa has a population of 1.1 billion people, which is roughly equal to the combined populations of Europe and North America.

A resource-rich continent of youthful potential

Africa鈥檚 youthful population is expected to grow to 1.4 billion by the year 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050. Roughly 70% of Africans are under the age of 30, compared to Europe where populations are aging and declining. This young population offers enormous opportunities for economic growth and innovation, but only if they are seized.

Other valuable resources are also waiting to be unlocked

data indicates that Africa has 30% of the world鈥檚 mineral resources and 65% of the planet鈥檚 arable agricultural land. South Africa, for example, holds听90%听of the world鈥檚 , while Nigeria and Libya are among the top ten countries with the largest oil reserves.

Africa also has the largest cobalt reserves, with the Democratic Republic of Congo accounting for more than two-thirds of global supplies. As the world transitions to green energy sources, cobalt has become a strategic resource, particularly in the automotive and power generation industries.

In certain types of innovation, Africa also leads the world

According to a into mobile payment banking, Kenya and Ghana have the second and third highest mobile payment usage after China, demonstrating Africa鈥檚 enormous potential. Mobile transactions account for 87% of Kenya鈥檚 GDP and 82% in听Ghana.

To put this in context, the African mobile payment market could have 850 million customers by 2025, which is 100 million more than Europe鈥檚 total population.

The big question is why, despite a large young population and mineral resource wealth, does Africa continue to trail the rest of the world in its development?

Tech-enabled SMEs could power the continent鈥檚 growth

One of the solutions to driving Africa鈥檚 economic development could lie in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. SMEs have the potential to support development by creating jobs and driving economic growth. The burning question is: why are African SMEs so slow to adopt and leverage technology?

African businesses 鈥� and SMEs in particular 鈥� face significant challenges that include lack of access to capital, specialised skills, raw materials, and markets. A lack of adoption of new technologies is causing several issues for Africa鈥檚 SME sector, ranging from poor planning, a lack of forecasting capability, and lack of capacity to leverage the efficiency gains of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These issues must be addressed if we are to unleash the next generation of African business success stories.

Although technology is not the only answer to the question of building world-class competitive African businesses, it is one of the most accessible solutions to many of the challenges that businesses face. Returning to the mobile payment banking example, this innovation was the result of a clever use听of technology to address a fundamental challenge in both Kenya and Ghana: a lack of banking infrastructure.

Digital supply chains and business network solutions could unlock access to new markets for raw materials or finished products. Innovative use of technology 鈥� like what we鈥檝e seen with mobile banking 鈥� could solve immediate challenges stunting SMEs鈥� growth and unlock a new wave of innovation across the continent.

Even though Africa continues to face numerous and complex challenges, there is no denying that the continent is brimming with possibilities. The time is now for African businesses to leverage technology as a strategic resource to fuel innovation and growth.

听Dumisani Moyo is the Marketing Director at听51风流Africa. He is an avid scholar in technology, leadership, diversity, and sustainability. Dumi has extensive experience in technology and a Master of Philosophy Degree in Business Management with a specialization in Responsible Leadership.

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Returning for the second year, 51风流Africa Code Week鈥檚 AfriCAN Code Challenge announced their top 10 winners with Devansh and Darshika from Mauritius as the Pan-African winners of the competition.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 theme was about them telling us how they would save the world with their superpowers, and most of the 100+ submitted projects were about climate change鈥� says Mr. Albert Nsengiyumva, ADEA Executive Secretary 鈥淎frica has the youngest population on the planet and we were impressed to see how the children have been able to use their creativity and come up with innovative solutions to addressing听 issues that they feel are relevant to their daily reality.”

The AfriCAN Code Challenge is a pan-African coding competition where youth aged 8 – 16 were tasked with coding a game using the programming language to address the theme that was determined by the Africa Code Week team.听This competition was launched听by and partners , , the Association for the Development of Education in Africa () and Jokkolabs in September 2020, and since then has become an annual celebration of youth and innovation in Africa.

The rationale for chosing the superheroes universe was to allow children to unleash their creativity and express themselves freely on issues they feel are important to them. Davide Storti, Coordinator of the YouthMobile Initiative at UNESCO, says: 鈥淭he post-pandemic education recovery starts with allowing our children to regain confidence and hope, and with us adults reopening spaces, although virtual, for them to access their fullest potential.”

To take part in the AfriCAN Code Challenge, youth were able to enter alone or in teams of up to five people, and entries featured a three-minute YouTube video showcasing how their game works and why it should be considered a winning entry. The unique initiative and entry mechanism called upon the children鈥檚 ability to design a project that would solve a community-issue, code it, and communicate it.

During the opening rounds of the challenge, participation reached across 40 countries and featured 102 project video clips, only the top three entries from 36 countries made it into the continental final, followed by 20 countries in the final judging stage.

Selected by a high-level jury comprising key Africa Code Week delegates and STEM education experts, the top three winners of the AfriCAN Code Challenge are:

• First place: 鈥� Super Recyclers, by Devansh and Darshika
• Second place: 鈥� The Carbon Man, by SUPER GAMERS
• Third place: 鈥� Kids Academy, by Natnael Kedir

Followed by:

• 4: – Rayuwa
• 5: – Helper intrigue
• 6: – Le toucher du bonheur
• 7: – Change the World with US
• 8: 鈥� Super hero
• 9: – The Prodigies
• 10: – Pensons civisme

听This edition of the AfriCAN Code Challenge was quite unique, as for the first time, hearing-impaired students have participated in the competition proving once again that coding is the language of inclusivity and creativity. The team that has competed in the special category for differently-abled children is from Mozambique.

Irish Minister of State for overseas development aid and diaspora Colm Brophy T.D, who attended the Rwanda AfriCAN Code Challenge national awards ceremony says, 鈥淎frica Code Week unlocks the potential in young people who otherwise may not have considered building their digital skills鈥�

Claire Gillissen-Duval, Director of EMEA Corporate Social Responsibility and Co-founder of Africa Code Week at 51风流adds, 鈥淭he 听return of the AfriCAN Code Challenge was quite awaited by our incredible 51风流volunteers who took part in the first line of jury. The presence of hearing-impaired students demonstrates the power of inclusivity that resides in digital literacy, in its capacity to build bridges and connect children of an entire continent, regardless of gender, age or ability.鈥�

For more information about 51风流Africa Code Week and the AfriCAN Code Challenge, visit

ENDS

听

About Africa Code Week

Since 2015, 51风流Africa Code Week (ACW) has been creating free opportunities for young Africans to learn coding skills and for teachers to be trained on digital learning curricula. Strong partnerships with the public, private and civil society sectors across听the continent are driving sustainable impact by building teaching capacity and supporting the adoption of coding into national curricula in support of UN Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5 and 17. Key partners include听听Youth Mobile,听,听the , Google and GIZ/BMZ.

In 2019 alone, the initiative saw 3.85M children participating in coding workshops and 39,000 teachers mobilized across 37 countries. In 2020, ACW increased the program鈥檚 reach to the entire continent to deepen impact and ensure no child was left behind. The online rollout took center stage across Africa with the launch of a smartphone App to facilitate accessible learning, the introduction of the 鈥� a competition themed, 鈥楬ow will your tech change the future of education鈥� engaging youth from 40 African countries, Virtual Train-the-Trainer (TTT) sessions for teachers and a second Women Empowerment Workshop engaging 70 teachers in a 8-week long online program. Join 51风流and partners by visiting听www.africacodeweek.org听to find out more.

About SAP

SAP鈥檚 strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world鈥檚 transaction revenue touches an SAP庐 system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into intelligent enterprises. 51风流helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 51风流helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit

# # #

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 鈥渁nticipate,鈥� 鈥渂elieve,鈥� 鈥渆stimate,鈥� 鈥渆xpect,鈥� 鈥渇orecast,鈥� 鈥渋ntend,鈥� 鈥渕ay,鈥� 鈥減lan,鈥� 鈥減roject,鈥� 鈥減redict,鈥� 鈥渟hould鈥� and 鈥渨ill鈥� and similar expressions as they relate to 51风流are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. 51风流undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP’s future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including SAP’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
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51风流and other 51风流products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of 51风流SE in Germany and other countries. Please see for additional trademark information and notices.

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As survivors of a global crisis, bright young professionals are entering the labour market equipped with new skills, fresh perspective, and boundless energy.

This is all thanks to a highly successful graduate program driven by 51风流and supported by a thriving ecosystem of public and private sector partners and customers.

According to Cathy Smith, managing director at 51风流Africa, while many educational programs struggled with the听听of distance learning during the pandemic, the 51风流Young Professionals Program went from strength to strength.

鈥淏y opening our online classrooms to tap into new markets, we were able to attract talented, qualified university graduates who may not have been able to attend classes in-person otherwise. As a result, our customers and partners across Africa have access to a wider pool of qualified 51风流consultants who can help drive digital transformation using SAP鈥檚 latest innovations.鈥�

Skills investment to support continent鈥檚 digital ambitions

51风流is听听to increase the number of trained and certified 51风流consultants in the 51风流ecosystem to support customers with听.

听new employment in the ecosystem will rise to 1.6 million employees by 2024, up from 1 million in 2020. Of the 600,000 new employees added to the 51风流ecosystem, 280,000 will be net-new consultant roles, making 51风流skills a valuable commodity in the job market.

In June, the 51风流Young Professionals program achieved a new milestone with the graduation of its first-ever class in Portuguese-speaking Africa, comprising Angola and Mozambique.

Constantin Zelenty, deputy head of Mission at the German Embassy in Angola, joined 51风流customers, partners, and executives in celebrating the milestone with a virtual graduation ceremony. 鈥淚n order for Angolan companies to grow and succeed in our modern age, they need to harness the transformative power of digital technologies along with rightly skilled talent,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e hope this may be the first of many groups of graduates who can apply their expertise in service of Angola鈥檚 ambitions for the modern digital economy.鈥�

Leading enterprises, graduates laud program鈥檚 success

For customers like听, the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent, working with 51风流Young Professionals is a win-win opportunity for talent development.

鈥淎t Dangote Group, we always encourage young, talented professionals to kick-start their careers. We are happy to partner with the 51风流Young Professionals program by continuing our commitment to hire fresh program graduates,鈥� says Devakumar Edwin, Group Executive Director, Dangote Group. 鈥淭his programme enabled us in recruiting bright young minds who are trained in the latest 51风流technologies and soft skills like design thinking to be readily deployed in our 51风流Centre of Expertise.鈥�

Having earned the sought-after professional designation of 51风流associate consultant, graduates of the 51风流Young Professionals program are skilled on the most recent versions of 51风流software and career-ready for placement with 51风流partners and customers in their region.

The program boasts a job placement rate of 95% globally.

To date, more than 3,220 people have graduated from the program since its inception in late 2012. The program is free of cost for its selected learners.

One such graduate is Rebecca Akello from Uganda, who until she became part of a recent 51风流Young Professionals Program cohort was underemployed with few prospects for advancement in a volatile job market.

The motivated young self-starter had begun to study toward an MBA in the hopes of securing a better job, and was unfamiliar with 51风流when she first saw an advertisement for the 51风流Young Professionals Program.

鈥淲hen I came across the program advert on LinkedIn, I thought to myself, 鈥極kay this is going to be like any other internship or apprenticeship done by big corps for public relations.鈥欌��

However, once Akello had successfully completed the program, she underscored the intrinsic value of the 51风流certifications and professional soft skills that she earned through the program.

鈥淲e have been energised to strive towards our dreams relentlessly, and today we have been honoured with our 51风流certifications,鈥� she said at a recent virtual graduation ceremony. 鈥淥ur networks have also grown beyond local and regional borders.鈥�

Track record of skills success

The 51风流Young Professionals program has already trained more than 1,550 young people in Africa as part of 51风流Skills for Africa, an 51风流umbrella initiative focused on skills development and job creation. Training multi-country cohorts in a virtual setting, a necessity of the pandemic, has accelerated the expansion of the program鈥檚 footprint on the continent.

In 2021 alone, talents from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Egypt, Angola, and Mozambique have graduated from the program. The latest group of graduates, hailing from Nigeria, celebrated a virtual graduation ceremony on September 23rd.

Since mid-2019, 51风流has been working with the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the aim to jointly create 450 jobs for highly qualified personnel in the IT sector in 10 African countries over the course of three years.

The cooperation project is part of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation and the develoPPP program that GIZ implements on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

It is executed by the 51风流Training and Development Institute as part of the established 51风流Young Professionals program.

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – October 6^th, 2021 – Africa鈥檚 biggest digital skills initiative, 51风流Africa Code Week (ACW), officially launched yesterday with a strong focus on virtual learning as the continent struggles to recover after COVID-19 disruption. The launch coincided with , which focuses this year on 鈥渢eachers at the heart of education recovery鈥�.

Speaking at a virtual event to mark both World Teacher’s Day and the start of 51风流Africa Code Week, UNESCO鈥檚 Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Dr Tawfik Jelassi, said that the pandemic has had a devastating effect, not only on the world鈥檚 health system and economy, but also on education and the teaching profession. Research shows that have been most impacted by the pandemic, while a UNICEF study estimated that many African schoolchildren . 鈥淭eachers are at the heart of global education recovery efforts and are key in accelerating progress towards inclusive, equitable and quality education for every learner in every circumstance,鈥� Jelassi said.

In light of COVID and the need for virtual learning, Jelassi highlighted the importance of digital skills for Africa鈥檚 youth. 鈥淯nderstanding information technology, computational thinking, and problem-solving are all fundamental information literacy skills. Everyone should have access to information and be able to obtain the necessary competencies to turn information into knowledge and knowledge into practical value which enhances their lives and well-being,鈥� he said.

The necessity of digital fluency

Since its inception in 2015, Africa Code Week has empowered more than nine million youth and provides free opportunities for students and teachers to learn much-needed technology skills. Last year the format of the program shifted entirely to the exciting world of virtual, making it even more accessible to youth across the continent.

A key highlight for ACW this year is the , a coding competition for students aged 8 to 16 to create a game that solves a community-issue using the听听programming language. The theme for this year is 鈥淐hange the world with your superpowers鈥�. Last year the competition drew entries from 1,800 participants from 40 African countries, with the top three winners from Ethiopia, South Africa and Algeria – all three of whom are girls.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Honorable Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and ACW patron, said that coding offers new ways for young people to find solutions, although he acknowledged that infrastructure on the continent remains a challenge. 鈥淐oding is a language which young people need to be fluent in,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t gives our children computational skills and the ability to creatively solve problems.鈥�

Encouraging teachers and girls to embrace technology

As part of ACW, a host of Train-the-Trainer virtual sessions are aimed at empowering teachers with critical digital teaching skills. Training opportunities also encompass a Women Empowerment Program which seeks to teach, mentor, and inspire African women and girls to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Although Africa has according to the UN, less than are in STEM fields and female students in particular are critically underrepresented.

Speaking of the need to educate educators, Claudio Muruzabal, 51风流Regional President of EMEA South, said, 鈥淓ducation has an unbelievably powerful multiplier effect for a positive future. The more we can do to create opportunities for young people to embrace digital literacy, the more we contribute relevantly towards creating a better future for them, for their families, and for their communities.鈥�

Smart switch to mobile technology

With , a major innovation of last year鈥檚 ACW was the introduction of a smartphone app. 鈥淲hile we are immensely proud of this and the fact that millions of learners and teachers are being exposed to the endless possibilities the tech world offers, we are also excited to be sparking conversations about access to quality education for all and addressing the gender and special-needs barriers for Africa鈥檚 youth,鈥� said Claire Gillissen-Duval, head of 51风流Corporate Social Responsibility for EMEA and Africa Code Week founder.

The driving force behind ACW is to empower young people and help them to become digitally literate and enable Africa to leapfrog into the 21st century. 鈥淭his could only be possible through the collaborative relationships between the public, private and non-profit sectors that are at the heart of ACW,鈥� said Michelle Winthrop, Policy Unit Director at Irish Aid, which together with 51风流and UNESCO, is one of the program鈥檚 main sponsors.

Despite the restrictions imposed by COVID, last year鈥檚 initiative successfully reached 1.5 million youth, of which nearly half (48%) were girls. Over 10,500 workshops were held across 43 countries and 21,000 teachers participated in Train-the-Trainer sessions.

The live workshop season of Africa Code Week 2021 officially commenced on World Teacher鈥檚 Day, 5 October, and is now open to more than 54 pan-African countries. For more information about Africa Code Week or to get involved, visit

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This is all thanks to a highly successful graduate program driven by 51风流and supported by a thriving ecosystem of public and private sector partners and customers.

According to Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51风流Africa, while many educational programs struggled with the complex demands of distance learning during the pandemic, the 51风流Young Professionals Program went from strength to strength.

鈥淏y opening our online classrooms to tap into new markets, we were able to attract talented, qualified university graduates who may not have been able to attend classes in-person otherwise. As a result, our customers and partners across Africa have access to a wider pool of qualified 51风流consultants who can help drive digital transformation using SAP鈥檚 latest innovations.鈥�

Skills investment to support continent鈥檚 digital ambitions

51风流is听investing听to increase the number of trained and certified 51风流consultants in the 51风流ecosystem to support customers with听.

IDC estimates听new employment in the ecosystem will rise to 1.6 million employees by 2024, up from 1 million in 2020. Of the 600,000 new employees added to the 51风流ecosystem, 280,000 will be net-new consultant roles, making 51风流skills a valuable commodity in the job market.

In June, the 51风流Young Professionals program achieved a new milestone with the graduation of its first-ever class in Portuguese-speaking Africa, comprising Angola and Mozambique.

Constantin Zelenty, deputy head of Mission at the German Embassy in Angola, joined 51风流customers, partners, and executives in celebrating the milestone with a virtual graduation ceremony. 鈥淚n order for Angolan companies to grow and succeed in our modern age, they need to harness the transformative power of digital technologies along with rightly skilled talent,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e hope this may be the first of many groups of graduates who can apply their expertise in service of Angola鈥檚 ambitions for the modern digital economy.鈥�

Leading enterprises, graduates laud program鈥檚 success

For customers like听, the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent, working with 51风流Young Professionals is a win-win opportunity for talent development.

鈥淎t Dangote Group, we always encourage young, talented professionals to kick-start their careers. We are happy to partner with the 51风流Young Professionals program by continuing our commitment to hire fresh program graduates,鈥� says Devakumar Edwin, Group Executive Director, Dangote Group. 鈥淭his programme enabled us in recruiting bright young minds who are trained in the latest 51风流technologies and soft skills like design thinking to be readily deployed in our 51风流Centre of Expertise.鈥�

Having earned the sought-after professional designation of 51风流associate consultant, graduates of the 51风流Young Professionals program are skilled on the most recent versions of 51风流software and career-ready for placement with 51风流partners and customers in their region. The program boasts a job placement rate of 95% globally. To date, more than 3,220 people have graduated from the program since its inception in late 2012. The program is free of cost for its selected learners.

One such graduate is Rebecca Akello from Uganda, who until she became part of a recent 51风流Young Professionals Program cohort was underemployed with few prospects for advancement in a volatile job market. The motivated young self-starter had begun to study toward an MBA in the hopes of securing a better job, and was unfamiliar with 51风流when she first saw an advertisement for the 51风流Young Professionals Program.

鈥淲hen I came across the program advert on LinkedIn, I thought to myself, 鈥極kay this is going to be like any other internship or apprenticeship done by big corps for public relations.鈥欌��

However, once Akello had successfully completed the program, she underscored the intrinsic value of the 51风流certifications and professional soft skills that she earned through the program.

鈥淲e have been energised to strive towards our dreams relentlessly, and today we have been honoured with our 51风流certifications,鈥� she said at a recent virtual graduation ceremony. 鈥淥ur networks have also grown beyond local and regional borders.鈥�

Track record of skills success

The 51风流Young Professionals program has already trained more than 1,550 young people in Africa as part of 51风流Skills for Africa, an 51风流umbrella initiative focused on skills development and job creation. Training multi-country cohorts in a virtual setting, a necessity of the pandemic, has accelerated the expansion of the program鈥檚 footprint on the continent.

In 2021 alone, talents from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Egypt, Angola, and Mozambique have graduated from the program. The latest group of graduates, hailing from Nigeria, celebrated a virtual graduation ceremony on September 23rd.

Since mid-2019, 51风流has been working with the Deutsche Gesellschaft f眉r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with the aim to jointly create 450 jobs for highly qualified personnel in the IT sector in 10 African countries over the course of three years.

The cooperation project is part of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation and the develoPPP program that GIZ implements on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is executed by the 51风流Training and Development Institute as part of the established 51风流Young Professionals program.

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The event was a joyful ceremony involving school authorities, Metropolitan assembly officials, chiefs, and parents from the winning school to showcase the hard work and efforts of local youth in line with the Government’s agenda towards improving 21^st century learning. Prizes included laptops, tablets, mobile handsets, and book vouchers and were handed to country winners from Nii Boye Town SDA Basic School, Martyrs of Uganda and Accra, and Sweet Code.

Local students rise above Covid challenges

Speaking about the awards ceremony, Francis Ahene-Affoh from DreamOval adds, 鈥淒espite the global pandemic and today鈥檚 disruptions to learning, Ghana received both innovative and creative competition entries. We selected the best three to represent our country for the continental challenge and look forward to seeing our local talent showcased with Africa鈥檚 top students.鈥�

The AfriCAN Code Challenge is an听exciting pan-African competition听that invites youth aged 8-16 years to program a Scratch game aligned to the ‘Change the world with your Superpowers’ theme. Participants are invited to compete individually or in teams of up to five people to test students鈥� ability to write basic code using the scratch language and to show their level of competence in a 2min video which is reviewed by a panel of judges.

Speaking at the event, Chief of Nii Boye Town, Nii Ayi Mensah 1, acknowledged the students and their hard work and the importance of key influencers and local ambassadors in fostering digital education in the community. He also highlighted the importance of digital learning and education while referencing the students from SDA who were shining examples with their winning creations in the AfriCAN Code Challenge.

Francis from DreamOval echoed Nii Ayi Mensah 1鈥檚 words at the event by celebrating the students鈥� tenacity and dedication, but also encouraged them to take digital learning and coding seriously as a 鈥榯ransformative journey鈥� that will change their lives and make them competitive in the global economy.

Ghana helps conquer Africa鈥檚 digital divide听听

During 2021 alone, more than 621 teachers have been trained in Ghana during Africa Code Week鈥檚 Train-the-Trainer (TTT) sessions during the month of August thanks to the implementing partner, DreamOval Foundation.

Due to COVID-19 and to support health and safety regulations, the training was scheduled online and created an opportunity for teachers to register from all corners of the country. 鈥淕hana has recorded impressive results over the years during the TTT sessions, and this year was no exception,鈥� concludes Francis Ahene-Affoh.

To find out more information about Ghana鈥檚 continued support in Africa Code Week or to get involved, contact the DreamOval Foundation or send an email to francis@dreamoval.com.

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ACCRA, Ghana 鈥� 14 September 2021 鈥� Despite the dual challenges of low internet penetration and a switch to virtual teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in Ghana have embraced the opportunity to learn 21^st century digital teaching skills during this year鈥檚 Africa Code Week Train-the-Trainer campaign.

Ghana has from 14.2 million people in 1989 to 28.8 million people in 2017. , a demographic dividend that the Ghanaian government aims to harness through improved education opportunities for all its youth.

Speaking at the launch of last year鈥檚 Train-the-Trainer activities in Ghana, Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Yaw Adutwum, said: 鈥淐oding is not just a skill. It鈥檚 a different way of teaching and a different way of learning that puts the student at the centre of the learning process.鈥�

More than 39 000 teachers in 37 countries were mobilised during the 2019 Africa Code Week. This year, with an all-virtual format due to the impact of the pandemic, Africa Code Week is taking place in all African countries, including a month-long series of virtual coding sessions that took place across the continent from October until December.

Teachers embrace digital learning opportunity

Francis Ahene-Affoh, SVP at the DreamOval Foundation, says there was a high level of interest in the Train-the-Trainer sessions this year despite the challenging conditions of the pandemic. 鈥淲e had to switch to an all-virtual teaching model supported by 51风流master trainers from around the world, as well as our network of local partners. Teachers from all regions in Ghana registered and participated on the virtual training. Teachers from as far as Fumbisi in the Builsa south in the Upper East region of Ghana. This is an opportunity for an inclusive training, ensuring every teachers irrespective of location benefits from the coding training. This year鈥檚 training targeted 800 teachers. In 2020 alone over two weeks, we trained 1080 teachers from across the country.”

A survey conducted by the DreamOval Foundation of participating teachers revealed many would choose to continue with online learning in future. 鈥淲hile the majority of participants at this year鈥檚 Train-the-Trainer sessions were from the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, this year鈥檚 virtual learning model also enabled teachers from every part of Ghana to participate,鈥� says Ahene-Affoh. “We believe this indicates a need for virtual teaching to continue even when the pandemic subsides, as the travel to attend training sessions in person can be an obstacle to teachers’ participation.鈥�

Internet connectivity continues to be a challenge in Ghana, and few teachers have access to laptops. 鈥淒espite not having resources, more than half of teachers surveyed joined the sessions via their mobile phones. This level of commitment and passion for teaching and digital skills development is hugely encouraging as we work to prepare the country鈥檚 youth for participation in the digital economy,鈥� says Ahene-Affoh.

Mobilising youth in continent-wide coding challenge

A recent addition to Africa Code Week activities is the AfriCan Code Challenge, a continent-wide coding challenge calling on youth aged 8 to 16 to compete in a competition. The competition was launched in September last year in partnership with SAP, UNESCO YouthMobile and Irish Aid.

According to Mustapha Diyaol Haqq, Africa Code Week鈥檚 2019-2020 youth ambassador in Ghana, interest in the AfriCanCode Challenge has been high among Ghanaian youth. 鈥淒espite low levels of internet penetration in Ghana, young aspiring coders from across the country have taken up the challenge. Through teamwork, problem-solving and newly-developed coding skills, youth are putting forward their vision for what the future of education holds for the continent.”

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51风流Africa, says: 鈥淲hile the pandemic has upended the lives of learners and teachers across the continent and disrupted schooling, it has also created opportunities. The growing urgency to provide learning through digital channels is driving greater interest in digital skills among learners and teachers alike.听Teaching young kids to code is a gift that will endure for decades to come. If we harness our most precious resource 鈥� our abundance of youthful talent 鈥� Africa will go from strength to strength in 2021 and beyond.鈥�

For more information about Africa Code Week, please visit

ENDS

About SAP

SAP鈥檚 strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world鈥檚 transaction revenue touches an SAP庐 system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into intelligent enterprises. 51风流helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 51风流helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit

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