Local data science competition platform Zindi has introduced a new recruitment platform to help organisations around the world find the data science talent they need.
Zindi was launched in September 2018, with the aim of providing an online medium for African data scientists to convene, collaborate and participate in online competitions, to solve some of the continent's most pressing challenges.
The online platform works with companies, non-profit organisations and government institutions to develop and host data-driven challenges.
The new recruitment platform, announced this morning at the virtual AI Expo Africa 2020 event, will draw on Zindi’s community of more than 18 000 data scientists across Africa and the rest of the world, to match companies and organisations with the right talent for the job at hand.
“Zindi has the largest community of data scientists in Africa, which makes us uniquely positioned to help organisations find the talent they are looking for,” says Celina Lee, CEO of Zindi.
“We are proud to be pioneering a data-driven, evidence-based approach to data science recruitment in Africa to ensure organisations get candidates with the proven skills they need.”
The new recruitment platform is being launched in response to a clear need for emerging skills from organisations operating in Africa, according to the company.
Many of the companies Zindi works with have expressed their frustrations at not being able to find the right talent in Africa for their needs through traditional channels.
Zindi says it has in two years accumulated the largest pool of talented, passionate data scientists in Africa, many of whom are looking for work: 55% of Zindi users are actively looking for their next professional opportunity.
These users cover a wide range of data science skills and languages, and 75% have a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification. Many are new to the data science field, but approximately half of them have more than a year of data science experience.
The data science platform says it has already helped place several candidates with its partners around Africa. This includes recruiting a data scientist for a COVID-19 response project in the Democratic Republic of Congo for mobile operator organisation GSMA, and it has also placed the winners of a recent Zindi competition to implement the air quality forecasting solution for data monitoring company AirQo in Uganda.
“Zindi has made a name for itself working with African data scientists to crowd-solve the biggest challenges facing the continent,” says Roy Bannister, COO of AI Media Group and co-founder of AI Expo Africa.
“The company has an impressive track record working with international corporates like IBM and Microsoft, as well as organisations like USAID and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. As a long-term partner, we are extremely proud of them launching their recruitment platform at Africa’s biggest gathering of data scientists and data-driven firms − AI Expo Africa 2020.”
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