Talent Nation Raises Pre-Seed Funding to Train One Million African AI Engineers

Talent Nation, founded by Nigerian entrepreneur Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and South African-born entrepreneur Kesiah Valkin, has raised an undisclosed pre-seed round to train, certify and place African AI engineers with businesses worldwide.

The funding round was co-led by Enza Capital and LocalGlobe, with Future Africa, Kaleo Ventures, Ajim Capital, Solving.org and Accelerate Africa also participating. The investment will support a business built around Talent Nation’s ambition to train one million engineers over the next decade through its Learn2Earn academy.

The academy recruits candidates for technical training and connects successful participants with paid engineering work. Demand for the programme has been strong: over 18 months, it received more than 63,000 applications and assessed over 32,000 candidates. Around 1,400 fellows have enrolled across nine campuses in six cities, with fewer than 3% of applicants admitted.

Talent Nation has also secured clients for its engineering services, including telecommunications infrastructure company IHS Towers.

Training Engineers Without Upfront Tuition

Learn2Earn offers training without requiring candidates to pay tuition upfront. Applicants begin with an online assessment before progressing to in-person trials that evaluate their technical ability, problem-solving and critical thinking.

Candidates with sufficient experience can move directly into client engagements. Others enter training programmes lasting three, six or 12 months, depending on their needs and existing skills.

Participants work on practical engineering tasks and collaborative projects to build the skills needed to develop and support AI-powered products. After training, Talent Nation matches qualified engineers with companies looking for technical staff.

The company is targeting demand from businesses that need people who can put AI applications to work. This includes engineers who can connect AI tools to existing software, test their performance and maintain systems once they are in use.

Founders Bring Experience in Technology and Training

Aboyeji serves as executive chairman of Talent Nation. He previously co-founded Andela, which developed African software engineering talent for international employers, as well as payments company Flutterwave. He was also involved in founding mobility financing business Moove.

Chief executive Kesiah Valkin previously co-founded 01 Founders, a London-based coding school. Their experience in technology businesses and engineering education informs Talent Nation's approach to developing talent for international clients.

Client Revenue to Finance Future Cohorts

Talent Nation intends to finance further training through the fees it earns from client projects. Graduates who find work will also help fund later groups of trainees. The company expects this arrangement to support additional training places without requiring applicants to pay tuition before they begin.

This approach ties the academy's growth to commercial demand for its engineers. More placements could generate revenue for further training, while continued expansion will require the company to maintain technical standards and secure enough client work for its growing workforce.

The company has not disclosed the amount raised in its pre-seed round. Its target of training one million engineers within ten years will require a substantial expansion of its current academy network and the number of businesses willing to hire its graduates.