Sometime in mid-2021, a conversation would birth a suggestion. This suggestion would go on to change the lives of over 80 young vibrant graduates through an internship program called AFEX Tech Stars. The goal, at the start, was to impact several new graduates with technology skills, kicking off in 2022.

Near the end of the second cohort, the team set out to interview some mentors and participants to understand how the AFEX internship program works and where it is now. One of the first people we spoke to was AFEX’s Vice President, Technology and Innovation, Raheem Yusuf, who took us back to the beginning:

“I had a lineup of Interviews for mid-level front-end and back-end developer positions for our trading platform. These interviews were the third in 5 months and we were exhausted from searching for new talents, but also it was taking a lot of time that could have translated to valuable execution for the projects at hand. So, I casually mentioned to the Chief Technology Officer, 'Instead of doing this every three months, we could train people.”

On the back of that comment and several ideations, the AFEX TECH STARS known as the ATS program came to life. This program was designed to provide participants with an early leap into real-world experience in the tech industry through an internship with a duration of 6-12 months. The ATS program also fits in well with AFEX's belief in the grit and innovation of young talents and their ability to solve Africa’s problems.

Growth takes place where things happen. It is a verb- Yusuf Oguntola, Chief Technology Officer, AFEX.

Every member of the technology and innovation trybe at AFEX was incredibly excited to see this program come to life, and they became a necessary part of its success. We spoke to Ridwan, one of the mentors for the program on how it was structured and the chances for its sustenance, he had this to say, “Plans are good when structured, but best when worked on. For the ATS program, we introduced a tutelage system, which facilitated the pairing of experienced tutors/mentors with the participants to provide guidance, support, and knowledge transfer.”

The mentors were responsible for overseeing the growth of the participants in the five areas of product management, frontend development, backend development, mobile app development, and UI/UX design. The ATS 1.0 cohort saw 30 participants enrolled, and upon completion, 14 of the tech stars who demonstrated exceptional performance were seamlessly integrated into AFEX as Xperts. ATS 2.0 welcomed 21 participants during its induction phase and is nearing completion.

The Ibadan-based ATS program is building an ecosystem of tech innovators who will not only thrive now but transform the future. Alongside the core technology skills, the tech stars are also integrated into the AFEX mission of working to help Africa feed itself. According to the tech stars, gaining real-time experience brought them, and the culture sustains them.

This short series tells the simple yet intricate stories of how the ATS program is transforming the tech sector one young innovator at a time. For the next couple of weeks, we’ll introduce you to our tech star interns and learn about their experience growing their technical and professional development skills while pursuing a fulfilling career in the tech ecosystem.