TalentQL, a Nigerian-based talent recruitment platform, has announced its acceptance into the Techstars Toronto accelerator program.
TalentQL, which was launched by Adewale Yusuf, Opeyemi Awoyemi and Akintunde Sultan, in November, 2020, would be joining Plentywaka and other start-ups in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Program class of 2021.
TalentQL would also be receiving $120k in funding from Techstars, which would be used to further actualize its mission to provide opportunities for local talents across the globe.
Barely two weeks ago, Plentywaka announced its acceptance into the same program, churning out its plans to expand its services into the Canadian transport system.
Adewale Yusuf, CEO of TalentQL, expresses that the company will leverage Techstars’ backing to narrow more on getting global opportunities for African talents, while driving its expansion in Africa.
CEO, Adewale Yusuf added that on the 1st of April, 2021, TalentQL will be “opening (its) office in Kenya, and kickstart operations there. Maybe in the next quarter, we’ll activate markets like South Africa or Egypt.”
Speaking on how remote work is swiftly creeping into workforce around the world, TalentQL CEO explains that:
“We don’t need to have a physical office, just the right resources. We want culture, and we want people in the markets that understand the culture. We don’t want to go there as Nigerians, so we plan to activate each country one step at a time.”
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Although, being a start-up that focuses on remote jobs, TalentQL is poised at recruiting the right hands for the job.
“We want a situation where when we’re recruiting from other countries, our technical recruiters are from those countries. We want them to be able to speak the language of these engineers and understand the culture of their countries,” the CEO added.
With the coronavirus pandemic accelerating the need for international companies to seek cheaper and remote talent around the world. TalentQL is hoping to tap into what it thinks is a wealth of opportunity.
Commenting on the current surge in tech start-up and talents from Nigeria, Sunil Sharma, the managing director of Techstars Toronto, said that:
“The rise of Nigeria is more widely appreciated now in terms of technology sectors like finance, mobility and e-commerce, where talented Nigerians are not only bringing innovation and disruption but are doing so rapidly and at scale. Equally as intriguing is the opportunity relating to talent itself as Nigerians and Africans across the continent are contributing more to supporting tech companies across the world, and we think this is just the start.”