This disconnect between talent and global opportunity is one of the biggest challenges in today’s digital economy, and a core reason why platforms such as Propel and AltSchool Africa were built. 

Taking a detailed look at these two organisations, both aim to help African tech talent reach global job markets, but they do so in different ways.

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Propel is the Connector

Propel is a talent ecosystem platform focused on linking tech professionals, through communities, with job opportunities, projects, gigs and professional growth tools. 

It has built an ecosystem of 200+ specialised tech communities with over 600,000 members across more than 22 countries. 

Propel’s model integrates job listings, learning support, community networking and embedded financing (like device or cash loans) to help talent prepare for jobs, present themselves well and get hired. 

On the other hand, AltSchool Africa is the Educator

AltSchool Africa is an education platform aimed at training Africans with the skills employers want. It provides structured programmes, ranging from diploma courses in software engineering and cloud computing to short nano‑diplomas and masterclasses. 

More recently, it has launched continent‑wide initiatives like “AI for 10M Africans”, aimed at providing free foundational and advanced education in artificial intelligence to 10 million learners. 

How Each Addresses Global Job Access

This is where the contrast becomes most consequential.

Propel: A Direct Bridge to Opportunities

Propel’s global job board curates roles from international companies actively hiring African tech talent, not just adverts scraped from the web, but vetted positions updated weekly with direct application links and smart filters by skill, experience and job type. 

Its Opportunity Hub goes beyond jobs, including internships, hackathons, fellowships and gigs designed to grow your portfolio and visibility. 

The platform works through communities, meaning you don’t search alone, you apply within a network of peers, mentors, recruiters and global employers who value connections over mere CVs. 

Engineers and designers from Propel communities report securing roles with global companies (including household names in tech), now working remotely or in hybrid models with competitive pay. 

AltSchool Africa: Preparing You for the Game

AltSchool’s strength is in skills creation, not job placement per se.

Its programmes are designed to teach practical, in‑demand skills that global employers look for, from software development fundamentals to advanced cloud engineering and cybersecurity skills. 

Importantly, AltSchool runs scholarship programmes with partners such as Binance and Bybit, offering funded training in fields like software engineering and data analytics to hundreds of students. 

The “AI for 10M Africans” initiative goes even further to be a part learning movement and part skills movement. The goal is to demystify AI literacy and make AI education accessible across languages and regions, a cue that AltSchool sees future readiness as a form of job access. 

However, AltSchool does not operate a direct global job marketplace. Instead, its value is in giving learners the confidence, credentials and capacities to be considered for jobs, locally and globally.

Strengths and Limitations: The Practical View

What Propel is Great At

• Job access and matching: curated global listings and tailored opportunities. 
• Community network effects: jobs, knowledge and referrals flow through the community, not just postings. 
• Hindrance removal: tools such as device financing and learning support make career pathways tangible. 
• Feedback and mentorship loops: driven by active peers and professionals. 

Challenges: Being productive depends on engagement within the community, the more you participate, the more visible you become. If you’re not actively networking or building a profile, opportunities can be slower to materialise.

What AltSchool Africa is Great At

• Structured learning: clear step‑by‑step programmes from foundational to advanced skills. 
• Scale through initiatives: “AI for 10M Africans” and scholarships draw learners across the continent. 
• Credentials: recognised certifications and structured diplomas. 

Limitations: Training alone doesn’t guarantee jobs. Learners still need to reach employers, something AltSchool supports via career services but does not own in the way a job platform does.

So…

If you’re starting from scratch, with little coding knowledge and no formal tech education, AltSchool Africa is a strong first choice. You’ll build the skills recruiters globally want, and graduate ready to pass technical interviews.

If you already have some skills or experience, or you’ve completed training, Propel is the better place to connect with employers, project opportunities and international teams who are hiring now.

In many cases, the strongest path is both. Use AltSchool Africa to get qualified and Propel to get seen and hired.

Finally; Complementary, Not Competing

Here’s the honest conclusion, one isn’t categorically “better” than the other, they serve different roles in the talent pipeline.

• AltSchool Africa builds readiness. It helps Africans become competitive globally.
• Propel connects readiness to opportunities. It bridges the gap between ability and employment.

In that sense, they are two halves of an ecosystem, not competitors. Tech careers need platforms that can both groom talent and connect it with opportunity. Propel and AltSchool Africa each occupy an important space in this. 

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The investment will enhance Yango’s support for innovative African startups that are solving local financing challenges and enabling sustainable business growth.

Beyond financial backing, Yango Group will work closely with Zanifu to strengthen its business structure and long-term expansion plans, drawing on its operational experience across more than 30 markets. 

The partnership stresses Yango’s belief that empowering SMEs is essential to driving inclusive economic growth across the continent.

Zanifu has already supported over 15,000 SMEs, offering embedded lending solutions that help small businesses access inventory finance, manage cash flow, and scale operations without relying on traditional collateral.

“Zanifu is working on exactly what we care about, building tools that help other businesses grow. By giving thousands of SMEs real access to capital, the team is enabling them to expand and succeed. We’re excited to bring our experience and expertise to help scale a business that’s delivering real impact to local communities,” said Daniil Shuleyko, CEO of Yango Group.

The investment was made through Yango Ventures, a corporate venture arm launched earlier this year with a focus on early-stage startups across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

The fund targets high-growth sectors such as fintech, B2B SaaS, and on-demand services, offering startups both funding and access to Yango’s global expertise, network, and strategic guidance.

A deal with Zanifu results from Yango Group’s trust in Africa’s innovation ecosystem, ensuring growth for small businesses. This also opens a new chapter of scale and expansion across some of the continent’s most promising markets.

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Revealed by Africa: The Big Deal, the resurgence has been driven by a steady stream of sizeable deals in equity and debt, with June standing out as a particularly aggressive month. 

Alone, the month saw $365 million in funding, the highest monthly total in nearly a year. This pushed the monthly average for H1 to $237 million, a rise from $133 million in H1 2024 and even above the 2024 full-year average of $187 million.

But this rebound didn’t happen overnight. Of the six months in H1 2025, four crossed $250 million. Even March, which saw a steep dip, has faded from memory in the face of strong activity in both equity and debt funding.

Equity deals made up the lion’s share, reaching $950 million, up 79% year-on-year. However, it came in just below the $1.02 billion raised in the second half of 2024, showing signs of stabilisation. 

The debt market, on the other hand, had a slower start. By May, debt funding stood at $177 million, down from $255 million during the same period last year. 

Then came June, Wave’s $137 million debt round changed the game. With that and a few other sizeable deals, H1 closed with $400 million in total debt funding, matching H2 2024 and improving 55% from H1 2024.

East and West Africa painted a contrasting picture. Kenya and Senegal emerged as the strongest performers, accounting for several of the top ten deals in June. 

Senegal’s Wave led with the $137 million debt round to strengthen its mobile money infrastructure. Kenya followed closely with M-KOPA securing a $51 million loan to scale its digital financial services and PowerGen closing $50 million for clean energy expansion. 

In contrast, Nigeria, long regarded as the continent’s funding magnet, slipped noticeably. No Nigerian startup featured among the top ten fundraisers in May.

There’s also been a transition in the sectors attracting capital. Fintech still commands the largest slice of the pie, but cleantech and healthtech are no longer niche. 

Companies like Burn Manufacturing in Kenya and Wetility in South Africa raised sizeable rounds for clean energy projects. MyDawa, a Kenyan healthtech platform, secured $9.6 million to grow its digital pharmaceutical services.

Despite the strong H1 showing, total funding in H1 2025 is almost identical to H2 2024, down just 1.5%. That shows a market that may have found its ceiling, at least for now.

Still, the recovery for African startups is real. Compared to the funding drought of early 2024, what we’re seeing now is a reversal. The challenge going forward is whether this growth is sustainable, or simply the system catching its breath before the next storm.

A full breakdown is expected at the Africa: The Big Deal LinkedIn Live event on July 22. 

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