Talent Nation, a new platform founded by two experienced African technology builders, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Kesiah Valkin, has raised an early-stage pre-seed investment round to train, certify, and connect one million African artificial intelligence engineers with employers worldwide over the next ten years. Africa-focused venture capital firm Enza Capital and London-headquartered fund LocalGlobe co-led the round, with participation from Future Africa, Kaleo Ventures, Ajim Capital, Solving.org, and Accelerate Africa. Individual backers include Sir John Lazar, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Saul Klein, co-founder and managing partner at LocalGlobe. Talent Nation did not disclose the amount raised, but the company said the funding will support its ambition to build a large, globally competitive pipeline of AI engineering talent from Africa.
The announcement comes after 18 months of quiet operation. During that time, Talent Nation has been building its training infrastructure and testing its model through Learn2Earn, its academy arm. The company says the need is urgent: businesses around the world are under pressure to adopt artificial intelligence, but many struggle to find engineers who can turn AI tools into reliable, working products.
A Ten-Year Goal Built on a Simple Idea
Talent Nation’s central goal is simple to state and difficult to achieve. Over the next decade, it aims to train, certify, and place one million African AI engineers into businesses worldwide. Most of these engineers will come from Africa, although the company has not ruled out expanding beyond the continent in the future.
The idea is not only to help young Africans gain valuable skills. It is also to solve a growing problem for employers. Artificial intelligence is becoming more powerful, but companies still need people who can evaluate AI outputs, test applications, connect AI systems to existing software, and keep those systems working in the real world. Talent Nation is betting that Africa can supply a large part of that workforce.
The People Behind the Mission
Talent Nation was co-founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Kesiah Valkin. Aboyeji is a well-known Nigerian technology entrepreneur who co-founded Andela and Flutterwave and was an early investor in Moove. Andela, in particular, built a model for training African software engineers and connecting them with international employers. Valkin, who serves as chief executive officer, previously co-founded 01 Founders, a coding school based in London. Aboyeji serves as executive chairman.
Their combined experience matters. Aboyeji has seen how technology talent can be developed at scale in Africa. Valkin has direct experience in building intensive, practice-based engineering education. Together, they are trying to create something larger than a traditional coding school: a platform that recruits, trains, certifies, and deploys engineers into paid work with global companies.
How Learn2Earn Works
Learn2Earn is the engine of Talent Nation’s plan. The academy does not charge candidates tuition upfront, a detail that matters greatly for young people who cannot afford expensive training programmes. Instead, applicants go through a competitive process. They begin with an online assessment and then move to in-person trials that test technical ability, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Candidates with enough experience can move directly into client work. Others enter training programmes that last three, six, or twelve months, depending on their existing skills and needs.
The training is practical. Participants work on engineering projects, take part in intensive buildathons, and gain experience through internships and real client assignments. The focus is on helping them develop and support AI-powered products, not simply to pass exams.
The results so far show both demand and selectivity. In 18 months, Learn2Earn received more than 63,000 applications and assessed more than 32,000 candidates. Around 1,400 fellows have enrolled across nine campuses in six cities. Fewer than 3% of applicants were admitted.
A Financing Model Tied to Real Work
One of the most important parts of Talent Nation’s model is how it pays for training. The company plans to use revenue from enterprise projects to fund future cohorts. Graduates who find work will also contribute towards training later groups of engineers. This creates a cycle in which commercial demand for engineers helps finance the development of more engineers, without requiring poor candidates to pay fees before they start.
Talent Nation has already secured engineering clients, including IHS Towers, a telecommunications infrastructure company listed on Nasdaq. That kind of client work is essential. It gives trainees real experience, generates revenue, and proves to global employers that African engineers can meet international standards.
Why Global Companies Are Paying Attention
The global race to build and use artificial intelligence has created enormous demand for technical talent. But not every company needs a frontier AI researcher. Many need engineers who can integrate AI models into existing systems, test their performance, and maintain them once they are in use. These are the kinds of roles Talent Nation is preparing people for.
Aboyeji has described talent as “the final constraint to super intelligence.” His point is that even the most advanced AI systems need skilled people to make them useful in real organisations. Talent Nation aims to provide certified AI engineering talent at a fraction of the cost of hiring from elite AI laboratories or traditional consulting firms.
Valkin has also stressed that developing talent at scale is extremely complex. “It is easy for us to say that Africa has enormous talent, but what’s really hard is building the infrastructure to actually find that talent and develop them to globally competitive standards,” she said.
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Investors See Opportunity in Africa’s Talent Pipeline
For Enza Capital, the investment reflects a wider belief that Africa’s challenges can produce globally competitive technology businesses if those businesses can access the right engineering talent. Sir John Lazar said the firm backed Talent Nation because of the founders’ ability to identify engineering talent and connect African professionals with valuable work while maintaining global standards.
LocalGlobe’s involvement adds another strong signal. The London-based fund has backed technology companies in various markets, and its participation suggests that Talent Nation’s model is not only an African story but also a global labour-market story. The company is not just training engineers for Africa; it is preparing them for international clients who need AI skills.
