170 Kenyans are set to lose their jobs as Andela firm is set to end its young developer fellowship.
Andela which is an incubation firm backed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) will end its fellowship in Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria.
A total of 420 developers will be affected as the firm comes to an end.
According to Andela Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Johnson, the growing demand for high-quality engineering has necessitated its end.
“As part of this shift, we have also had to make an extremely difficult decision as it relates to a number of talented junior engineers. We don’t believe we’ll be able to find meaningful work for (them) over the next year,” Johnson said as quoted by Citizen Digital.
However, the firm pointed out that it will continue to assist its young talents through some of the local innovation hubs they are in partnership like iHub among others
The firm now wants to hire senior developers.
About 700 developers are expected to replace the 420 set to be sacked, in a bid to keep up with its partners.
This move has attracted criticism from other community developers who have accused Andela firm of making use of cheap easily available labour to grow themselves.
“The end of the program is easily attributable to the ‘big time’ clients they are getting at the moment. The company has always been out to source for cheap labour with innovation only happening at the crossroads of profit maximization,” a source told Citizen Digital on the basis of anonymity.