We are building the first platform to bring Africa's college students, universities, and employers, all together in a single digital ecosystem.
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The Problems
Universities’ problem
More than 60% of African universities do not have formal career centers, while those that do often offer minimal services that are limited to on-campus presentations by potential employers (Customer Interviews) As a result, students are left to navigate the job market on their own, without the benefit of career guidance or the support needed to prepare them for employment.
Students’ problem
African graduates lack industry exposure before graduation and their college education may not align with job market requirements, leaving them ill-prepared for the 21st-century job market. As a result, 47% of African graduates need significant retraining/upskilling after hiring, which costs their employers money and resources (PwC)
Employers’ problem
The scarcity of skilled candidates impedes growth and innovation in African companies. In fact, 87% of African CEOs express concerns about the availability of essential skills among their employees, with 54% reporting that inadequate skills result in missed growth targets (PwC) As a result, employers seeking soon-to-graduate talents are compelled to organize costly in-person career fairs or hire third-party agencies to find suitable candidates.
Universities’ problem
More than 60% of African universities do not have formal career centers, while those that do often offer minimal services that are limited to on-campus presentations by potential employers (Customer Interviews) As a result, students are left to navigate the job market on their own, without the benefit of career guidance or the support needed to prepare them for employment.
Students’ problem
African graduates lack industry exposure before graduation and their college education may not align with job market requirements, leaving them ill-prepared for the 21st-century job market. As a result, 47% of African graduates need significant retraining/upskilling after hiring, which costs their employers money and resources (PwC)
Employers’ problem
The scarcity of skilled candidates impedes growth and innovation in African companies. In fact, 87% of African CEOs express concerns about the availability of essential skills among their employees, with 54% reporting that inadequate skills result in missed growth targets (PwC) As a result, employers seeking soon-to-graduate talents are compelled to organize costly in-person career fairs or hire third-party agencies to find suitable candidates.
Why Act Now?
Due to the above problems, over 9 million African university students struggle today to apply for internships, gain industry experience and develop 21st-century skills while in school, and secure competitive jobs after graduation. This problem is expected to worsen over the next 30 years, with an estimated 15-20 million people entering the job market annually, lacking adequate preparation and hindering the continent's growth.
Our Solution
Fikia ("to reach" in Swahili) is a virtual work experience and early career recruitment platform for Africa-based university students. We empower students across Africa to gain industry exposure from day one of college, through virtual work projects designed by top global companies. We strive to enable every African university to provide its students with equal access to invaluable professional opportunities and resources through digital career centers.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
How It Works
For universities:
Every university Fikia partners with will have a digital career center built for them. Through their digital career center, universities can remotely manage everything from career counseling, internship/job sharing, to job interview prep and career fairs, access data on the type of skills their students lack, and gain insights into the job market and employment outcomes for their students.
The digital career center also includes custom branding for the university, giving them the ability to showcase their unique identity and attract top prospective students and partners.
Finally, universities can leverage our platform to showcase their research projects, student and alumni achievements, sponsorships, and other initiatives to a wider audience of educational institutions and enthusiasts.
For Employers:
Each company that joins Fikia gets an all-in-one teach and hire portal to streamline their entire early-talent/entry-level recruitment needs. Through this portal, employers can manage everything in the recruitment process, from talent identification, recruitment, onboarding, candidate training, and retention.
By working with employers to design and provide virtual work experience projects to students while they are in school, Fikia ensures that current students remain engaged and motivated throughout their college journey, while building skills that will benefit both them and their future employers.
With Fikia's platform, employers have the opportunity to increase their brand awareness among students and reach a wider range of universities, which can potentially lead to partnerships and a pipeline of talented candidates for future hiring.
For Students:
Loging in through their respective university digital career, students can register for our virtual work experience projects, which provide an opportunity to acquire the skills necessary for success at top companies by replicating their work environment through on-hand projects designed by employees at their dream company.
Our self-paced virtual projects provide students with the essential tools necessary to excel in their chosen profession. They are available for free to all students at our partner schools and come with a company-awarded certificate upon completion. Students can proudly display this certificate on their profiles, resumes, and social media profiles.
After completing a certain number of programs, students' career readiness will be assessed. If they pass the assessment, the student will then have access and apply to the thousands of internships and entry-level jobs on our platform specifically vetted for Africa-based university students and build a lifelong network of like-minded people with their peers and professionals.
The Founders
CEO & Co-Founder, Fikia
SOULEYMANE DIALLO
Souleymane is a class of 2024 International Relations student at University of Rochester, New York, the Co-Founder of Guinean Young Leaders Initiative, and an incoming 2023 Summer Analyst at Goldman Sachs. He is from Guinea (West Africa).
Let's Connect
CTO & Co-Founder, Fikia
BRIAN JESSE KIMANI
Brian Jesse is a class of 2023 Computer Science and Economics student at University of Rochester, New York, and an incoming Software Engineer at Amazon. He is from Kenya (East Africa).
Let's Connect
Advisor & Mentor, Fikia
NANDINI EASWAR
Nandini is the CTO and Co-Founder of Speakfully, a human-centric SaaS platform addressing workplace mistreatment. She led the company through an acquisition in Nov 2022. Nandini is now Head of Security and Technology Operations at HR Acuity, the acquiring company of Speakfully. She is a technical advisor at Good4Work and a founding member of FirstBoard.io, advocating for women on corporate boards. Nandini holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and a certificate on Executive Leadership from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Nandini is a passionate advocate for women in STEM and has been featured in notable articles.Nandini became an Advisor for Fikia through Bizworld, a California-based accelerator for young entrepreneurs.
Let's Connect
Advisor & Coach, Fikia
ARTHUR CHAIT
Arthur Chait is the founder and former CEO of EoPlex Inc., a semiconductor developer utilizing proprietary 3D printing technology. EoPlex was acquired by ASTI Singapore. Mr. Chait, now semi-retired, teaches courses at Stanford University, Notre Dame de Namur, Menlo College, and Universidad Francisco Marroquin. He mentors startups at Stanford StartX and Draper University. With a BS in Materials Engineering from Rutgers University and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Chait has held leadership positions at notable companies including Booz Allen & Hamilton, PA Consulting Group, Solectron and Zitel Corporation.
Let's Connect
GET IN TOUCH
Our friendly team would love to hear from you.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Why Act Now?
Due to the above problems, over 9 million African university students struggle today to apply for internships, gain industry experience and develop 21st-century skills while in school, and secure competitive jobs after graduation. This problem is expected to worsen over the next 30 years, with an estimated 15-20 million people entering the job market annually, lacking adequate preparation and hindering the continent's growth.
Our Solution
Fikia ("to reach" in Swahili) is a virtual work experience and early career recruitment platform for Africa-based university students. We empower students across Africa to gain industry exposure from day one of college, through virtual work projects designed by top global companies. We strive to enable every African university to provide its students with equal access to invaluable professional opportunities and resources through digital career centers.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
How It Works
For universities:
Every university Fikia partners with will have a digital career center built for them. Through their digital career center, universities can remotely manage everything from career counseling, internship/job sharing, to job interview prep and career fairs, access data on the type of skills their students lack, and gain insights into the job market and employment outcomes for their students.
The digital career center also includes custom branding for the university, giving them the ability to showcase their unique identity and attract top prospective students and partners.
Finally, universities can leverage our platform to showcase their research projects, student and alumni achievements, sponsorships, and other initiatives to a wider audience of educational institutions and enthusiasts.
For Employers:
Each company that joins Fikia gets an all-in-one teach and hire portal to streamline their entire early-talent/entry-level recruitment needs. Through this portal, employers can manage everything in the recruitment process, from talent identification, recruitment, onboarding, candidate training, and retention.
By working with employers to design and provide virtual work experience projects to students while they are in school, Fikia ensures that current students remain engaged and motivated throughout their college journey, while building skills that will benefit both them and their future employers.
With Fikia's platform, employers have the opportunity to increase their brand awareness among students and reach a wider range of universities, which can potentially lead to partnerships and a pipeline of talented candidates for future hiring.
For Students:
Loging in through their respective university digital career, students can register for our virtual work experience projects, which provide an opportunity to acquire the skills necessary for success at top companies by replicating their work environment through on-hand projects designed by employees at their dream company.
Our self-paced virtual projects provide students with the essential tools necessary to excel in their chosen profession. They are available for free to all students at our partner schools and come with a company-awarded certificate upon completion. Students can proudly display this certificate on their profiles, resumes, and social media profiles.
After completing a certain number of programs, students' career readiness will be assessed. If they pass the assessment, the student will then have access and apply to the thousands of internships and entry-level jobs on our platform specifically vetted for Africa-based university students and build a lifelong network of like-minded people with their peers and professionals.
The Founders
CEO & Co-Founder, Fikia
SOULEYMANE DIALLO
Souleymane is a class of 2024 International Relations student at University of Rochester, New York, the Co-Founder of Guinean Young Leaders Initiative, and an incoming 2023 Summer Analyst at Goldman Sachs. He is from Guinea (West Africa).
Let's Connect
CTO & Co-Founder, Fikia
BRIAN JESSE KIMANI
Brian Jesse is a class of 2023 Computer Science and Economics student at University of Rochester, New York, and an incoming Software Engineer at Amazon. He is from Kenya (East Africa).
Let's Connect
Advisor & Mentor, Fikia
NANDINI EASWAR
Nandini is the CTO and Co-Founder of Speakfully, a human-centric SaaS platform addressing workplace mistreatment. She led the company through an acquisition in Nov 2022. Nandini is now Head of Security and Technology Operations at HR Acuity, the acquiring company of Speakfully. She is a technical advisor at Good4Work and a founding member of FirstBoard.io, advocating for women on corporate boards. Nandini holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and a certificate on Executive Leadership from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Nandini is a passionate advocate for women in STEM and has been featured in notable articles.Nandini became an Advisor for Fikia through Bizworld, a California-based accelerator for young entrepreneurs.
Let's Connect
Advisor & Coach, Fikia
ARTHUR CHAIT
Arthur Chait is the founder and former CEO of EoPlex Inc., a semiconductor developer utilizing proprietary 3D printing technology. EoPlex was acquired by ASTI Singapore. Mr. Chait, now semi-retired, teaches courses at Stanford University, Notre Dame de Namur, Menlo College, and Universidad Francisco Marroquin. He mentors startups at Stanford StartX and Draper University. With a BS in Materials Engineering from Rutgers University and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Chait has held leadership positions at notable companies including Booz Allen & Hamilton, PA Consulting Group, Solectron and Zitel Corporation.
Let's Connect
GET IN TOUCH
Our friendly team would love to hear from you.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Great talents deserve great opportunities. At Fikia, we give you both.
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