January 27, 2025 | Sponsored by TIYE

Web3 and blockchain are creating jobs that didn't exist a few years ago. Young African developers are well placed to take them, but specialist training is expensive. That cost is hardest on people who already code and want to move into something new. They've put years into learning, and starting again from zero isn't easy to afford.

TIYE Africa sponsored a free Web3 training programme run by Grazac Academy so cost wouldn't decide who could make that move. Participants learned blockchain development and paid nothing.

Why we're investing in Web3

Web3 is often described as the next stage of the internet. Web3 uses technologies such as blockchains and smart contracts to support applications where some transactions and rules can be executed transparently on a shared network, rather than relying entirely on a single central authority. For developers, that opens up new kinds of products to build.

We care about it for a simpler reason. African developers know the problems in their own markets better than anyone, including payments, records and access to finance. Web3 gives them more tools to solve those problems. We want the people building those solutions to be from here.

A partner with a track record

Grazac Academy is part of Grazac Innovation Hub in Ogun State. Founder Victor Adeleye told us the academy had already trained more than 500 young people in Web2 skills over four years. The Web3 programme was the natural next step for those graduates and others like them.

Victor Adeleye was also open about the problem. Moving into Web3 costs money, and many capable developers couldn't afford it. That's where we came in, and our sponsorship made the programme free.

How the programme worked

The programme ran for four months and mixed onsite sessions at the hub with virtual classes. It wasn't designed for complete beginners. To apply, you needed to know at least one programming language and have a working laptop.

The training was practical. Before finishing, participants deployed live smart contracts on a blockchain mainnet. That meant real code on a real network, which says much more to an employer than a classroom exercise.

Grazac's Business Manager, Adebayo Oluwaseun, pointed out that good code alone rarely gets someone hired. So the programme also included mentorship and training in communication and interview skills, which help developers present their work and do well in a job interview.

Why we sponsored it

Our mission at TIYE Africa is to help young people build the digital skills they need to thrive. This programme was aimed at a group that's easy to miss: young people who had already taught themselves or trained in programming and had no money to go further. We sponsored it so that cost wouldn't stop them.

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