This Andela company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. Andela works in HR technology, with a focus on global technical talent marketplace. It was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York, United States. Its latest valuation on record is US$1.5 billion (September 2021). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.
Revenue
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total funding | About US$380 million | September 2021 | TechCabal |
Funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | Series E | US$200M | US$1.5B | SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (lead); Whale Rock, Generation Investment Management, Spark Capital, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative | TechCabal |
| 2019 | Series D | US$100M | US$700M | Generation Investment Management (lead) | TechCabal |
Andela timeline
Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.
- 2014 — Andela is founded in New York by Jeremy Johnson (CEO), Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Christina Sass, Ian Carnevale, Nadayar Enegesi and Brice Nkengsa.
- 2019 — Series D: US$100M, valuing the company at US$700M. Investors: Generation Investment Management (lead).
- Sep 2021 — Series E: US$200M, valuing the company at US$1.5B. Investors: SoftBank Vision Fund 2 (lead); Whale Rock, Generation Investment Management, Spark Capital, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
- September 2021 — Total funding: About US$380 million.
Investors
Overview
Andela connects companies with skilled software engineers and other technical professionals around the world, especially in Africa and Latin America. Businesses use its marketplace to hire remote developers, data scientists, designers and AI specialists for projects or long-term roles, with Andela handling vetting, matching, contracts, payments and compliance. It began as a training programme in Lagos and became one of Africa's best-known technology companies, often described as a pioneer of the continent's tech ecosystem.
Andela was founded in 2014 by Jeremy Johnson, now CEO, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Christina Sass, Ian Carnevale, Nadayar Enegesi and Brice Nkengsa. The original idea was to identify talented young Africans, train them intensively as software developers and place them with international companies, betting that "brilliance is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not". The company is now headquartered in New York and operates fully remotely.
How the model changed
In its early years Andela recruited a small fraction of applicants, paid them while they trained for months and placed them with clients such as Microsoft and Google partners. The model was expensive and slow to scale. In 2019 and 2020 it laid off many junior developers and shifted to hiring experienced engineers. When remote work became normal during the pandemic, Andela turned into a global talent marketplace, expanding beyond Africa to Latin America and other regions and closing its physical campuses. This shift dramatically increased the pool of talent it could offer and the demand from companies willing to hire remotely.
Products
- Talent marketplace: companies post roles and are matched with vetted technologists from Andela's network.
- Talent Decision Engine: AI-based matching and assessment tools that evaluate skills and fit.
- Managed teams: Andela assembles and manages teams for specific projects.
- Payments and compliance: paying talent across many countries and handling contracts.
- AI talent: increasing focus on engineers skilled in AI and machine learning.
Funding
Andela raised early capital from investors including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV, Spark Capital and Generation Investment Management. A US$100 million Series D in 2019, led by Generation Investment Management, valued it at about US$700 million. In September 2021 SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a US$200 million Series E at a US$1.5 billion valuation, with new investor Whale Rock and existing backers Generation, Spark Capital and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Total funding reached about US$380 million. We haven't found a newer priced round, so the data above uses the 2021 valuation.
Business model
Andela earns the difference between what clients pay and what it pays its technologists, along with fees for managed services. Margins depend on pricing, talent costs and how efficiently it can match people with roles. Revenue isn't publicly disclosed, so we show it as not disclosed.
Competition
Andela competes with talent marketplaces such as Toptal, Turing and Upwork; with IT outsourcing firms in India, Eastern Europe and Latin America; and with employer-of-record platforms such as Deel that let companies hire directly abroad. Its advantages are its brand, network in Africa and Latin America and vetting technology.
Andela at a glance
Andela is a global technical talent marketplace founded in Lagos in 2014 by Jeremy Johnson and co-founders, now headquartered in New York. It connects companies with vetted remote engineers and technologists in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere. It raised a US$200 million Series E led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a US$1.5 billion valuation in September 2021.
Timeline
- 2014: founded in Lagos as a developer training and placement company.
- 2016–2017: raises funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, GV and others.
- 2019: raises a US$100 million Series D at about US$700 million and shifts towards experienced engineers.
- 2020: goes fully remote and opens its marketplace to talent across Africa and beyond.
- September 2021: raises US$200 million at US$1.5 billion, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
Africa's developer talent
Africa has one of the world's youngest and fastest-growing populations, and its developer community has expanded rapidly in hubs such as Lagos, Nairobi, Cairo, Accra and Kigali. Remote work allows African engineers to earn international salaries without emigrating, which can benefit local economies. Challenges include internet reliability, payment systems, time zones and visibility to global employers. Andela's success helped draw attention to African talent and inspired other companies in the ecosystem, such as fintechs Flutterwave and Moniepoint, whose founders and early engineers came through similar networks.
AI and the future of developer hiring
AI coding tools are changing the demand for developers. Companies may need fewer engineers for routine coding but more with skills in AI integration, data and system design. For talent marketplaces, this creates both risk and opportunity: demand for some roles may fall while specialised AI talent becomes more valuable. Andela has positioned itself to supply engineers who can build and deploy AI applications.
Questions for companies hiring remotely
- How are candidates vetted, and what happens if a placement doesn't work out?
- How are contracts, intellectual property and compliance handled across countries?
- How much time-zone overlap do you need with your team?
How vetting works
Talent marketplaces live or die on the quality of the people they place. Andela assesses candidates through coding tests, technical interviews, communication checks and reviews of past work, and increasingly uses AI tools to evaluate skills at scale. Its data on how placed technologists perform with clients feeds back into future matching. For clients, strong vetting reduces the risk and time involved in hiring remotely; for talent, it creates a credential that can lead to better-paid work.
Latest developments (October 2026)
Andela has not announced a new equity round since its 2021 Series E, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, which valued it at US$1.5 billion. Data providers report that it has continued to make acquisitions to broaden its talent and technical-assessment offerings. The market for remote engineering talent has been reshaped by AI coding tools, which change the skills companies hire for. Without a newer priced round, the 2021 valuation is the latest sourced figure and should be read as dated.
What to watch
Watch for new funding or valuation updates, AI talent demand, profitability and competition from AI-native talent platforms.
Takeaways
Companies can access vetted global engineering talent quickly. Founders can learn from Andela's pivot from training to marketplace. Investors should note that its valuation dates from 2021 and that AI is reshaping developer demand.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.
Frequently asked questions
What does Andela do?
Andela is a hr technology / global technical talent marketplace company headquartered in New York, New York, United States. It was founded in 2014.
What is Andela's valuation?
Andela was valued at US$1.5 billion as of September 2021, according to TechCabal. Private company valuations are set at funding rounds or share sales and can change significantly between them.
How much revenue does Andela make?
Andela is a private company and has not publicly disclosed its revenue. Figures on third-party sites are usually modelled estimates rather than numbers reported by the company.
What was Andela's latest funding round?
The most recent financing we have verified is a series e in Sep 2021: US$200M, at a valuation of US$1.5B. Source: TechCabal.
Who are Andela's investors?
Investors named in public announcements include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Spark Capital, Whale Rock and GV.
Who founded Andela?
Andela was founded in 2014 by Jeremy Johnson (CEO), Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Christina Sass, Ian Carnevale, Nadayar Enegesi and Brice Nkengsa.
Is Andela a public company?
No. Andela is a private company (private, venture backed), so its shares are not traded on a stock exchange and it isn't required to publish its financial results.
Where is Andela headquartered?
Andela is headquartered in New York, New York, United States.