Andela and CNCF's Kubernetes African Developer Training Program Trains more than 5,600 African Technologists on Cloud Native Skills

10,000 more to be trained next year; first cohort attracted 5,000 applicants in first 48 hours

NEW YORK, July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Andela Inc., one of the world's largest private marketplaces for technical talent, today announced that the first cohort of more than 5,600 African technologists have completed the joint Kubernetes African Developer Training Program on fast-growing cloud native technologies via Andela's recently launched training partnership with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and Linux Foundation Education.

Andela and the CNCF, which builds sustainable ecosystems for cloud native software, aim to train between 20,000 - 30,000 African technologists by 2027, skilled in everything they need to create and use AI systems, which is increasingly required. The first cohort completed the free, eight-week training program. The next phase for them is to pass official CNCF certification if they choose.

Almost 9,000 people applied to take part in the training, over 5,000 of them within the first 48 hours the opportunity was posted. The robust demand underscores the importance of software development based on cloud native basics and the industry-leading Kubernetes skills needed to excel in jobs globally as cloud native development grows. Kubernetes is foundational to modern AI development and is widely used to deploy AI/machine learning models, especially in the enterprise.

Andela expects the training to help build the global talent pool to fill growing demand for cloud native skilled developers in and outside the Andela talent marketplace. The applicants and learners hailed from 46 African countries with the majority coming from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Ghana.

"Kubernetes is a technology you can bet your career on. It's the backbone of modern software, and increasingly, of scalable AI systems. The demand for this skill is exploding," said Carrol Chang, CEO of Andela, which includes 150,000 technology professionals in its global marketplace. "At Andela, we're preparing the technologists of the future who are not just trained to code but to lead in environments where cloud, AI, and orchestration intersect. This partnership helps us to move faster, to bring that kind of talent to the world and to our clients."

Participants can train for the CNCF's Kubernetes and Cloud Native Associate (KCNA) certification, which demonstrates foundational knowledge and skills in Kubernetes and the cloud native ecosystem, and the Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), a practical exam which certifies that users can design, build, configure, and expose cloud native applications for Kubernetes, all skills that are applicable to today's real-world applications.

Of the 5,600 learners that participated in the training, 1157 have achieved official KCNA certification. Several have reported getting new jobs or higher salaries as a result of the training.

"This partnership underscores the huge demand for cloud native knowledge to enable workers to secure developer, SRE, DevOps, Sysadmin positions and more, whether in their own countries or as remote workers," said Christophe Sauthier, cloud native training and certification lead at CNCF. "By partnering with Andela, our reach is greater and so is our impact in helping workers secure opportunities and companies to secure needed talent."

The second cohort of the training partnership is intended to enroll an additional 10,000 participants and begin next year, followed by 15,000 the year after. All told, training participants are expected to take six to nine months to achieve KCNA and CKAD certifications. Andela fosters an active community for marketplace participants and has worked with numerous companies, including Google, Meta, Microsoft, AWS, and Nvidia to train talent in technologies that offer vast workplace opportunities.

About Andela
Andela operates one of the world's largest private marketplaces of skilled digital talent. Its adaptive hiring model gives companies greater flexibility to deploy qualified technical talent where it is most needed quickly. The company's exclusive AI-powered platform enables clients to select individual roles or engage fully managed teams up to 66% faster. Andela's diverse talent ecosystem spans over 135 countries and is highly skilled in advanced technologies to support Application Development, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud & DevOps, Data Engineering, and more. The world's best brands trust Andela, including GitHub, Mastercard, and Mindshare.

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SOURCE Andela