Strengthening the digital economy 
and creating jobs 

In Germany and Europe, skilled workers are in increasingly short supply, especially in the area of information and communications technology (ICT). By 2040, there are expected to be around one million vacancies in the digital sector in Europe (Bitkom 2024). Since COVID, companies have been more willing to set store in remote working and to explore new markets for outsourcing business processes. 

Across Africa exists a young, digitally inclined population, with an increasing number of graduates completing IT-related courses each year. This is creating a significant source of qualified specialists in the digital sector that can help to meet global demand. As a result, the continent is becoming better integrated in global value chains. There is enormous potential for growth, especially in the area of global business services (GBS) and the provision of on-site digital services. 

By outsourcing digital services to African countries, European companies not only benefit from cost-efficient and agile solutions, but also contribute to creating new jobs and strengthening digital ecosystems at local level.  

However, German IT companies that want to do business in Africa often face a challenge in finding qualified specialists and networking in local markets. This is where Digital Skills Accelerator Africa (DSAA) can help. Together with Invest for Jobs, it actively supports companies that engage in Africa. 

DSAA is a non-profit association of enterprises that offer digital services to local and European companies from their business locations in Africa. These services chiefly target the telecommunications, automotive, banking and insurance sectors. The member companies have a common goal: to create business and employment opportunities in Africa and to inspire, train and employ talented Africans in the IT sector.  

With support provided by Invest for Jobs, the companies implement demand-oriented and practical training programmes in partner countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Rwanda and Senegal). The focus is on enabling talented young people to acquire the skills required in the IT and digital services sector through IT courses and training and upskilling programmes. At the same time, the trainees develop their language and social skills in order to be able to offer digital services to international clients. When designing the courses, DSAA’s member companies identify the areas of expertise their potential employees currently lack. After completing their training, the graduates may receive an offer of work from one of the DSAA member companies. 

As well as providing its members with access to well qualified specialists, the association is also the entry point to an influential network of partners in information technology outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO). DSAA welcomes new members and is constantly looking to expand into other countries. It continues to support the growth of the enterprise network, primarily as a means of motivating German companies to enter into cooperation arrangements in Africa. 

DSAA places special emphasis on the economic empowerment of women. The association advises its member companies on giving women equal access to the employment market, for example through careers counselling and motivational presentations. The inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities also play an important role in the DSAA approach. It supports member companies in setting up barrier-free recruitment processes and adapting infrastructure, such as training facilities and computer programs, in order to guarantee broad-based accessibility. 

The combination of training for young talents, networking for companies and support for diversity and inclusion makes DSAA an effective partner for companies seeking to expand into African markets. By opening up opportunities for cooperation between European and African IT firms, the member companies not only support local job creation but also help strengthen the economies of the partner countries.  

Between 2019 and early 2025, almost 5,000 training courses took place as a result of this innovative approach to cooperation with the private sector, and close to 3,000 good jobs were created in 23 companies in Invest for Jobs’ partner countries. The work with DSAA has been successfully scaled up from two to seven countries. Based on the model’s success, a cooperation arrangement has been launched to strengthen GBS in Albania. 

The goal of all current and future projects run by DSAA member companies is to create sustainable and inclusive training programmes. For instance, DSAA member companies have launched programmes that enhance employment creation in Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda. 

In Rwanda, Tek Experts, a software developer and provider of technical support services, trained 160 IT experts and offered follow-on jobs to 69 graduates in the period up to March 2022. The two-month programme was aimed specifically at women trainees and trainees with disabilities and focused on encouraging their participation. Tek Experts is pursuing an integrated approach to promoting women applicants and people with disabilities in cooperation with the National Union of Disability Organizations of Rwanda (NUDOR). 

In June 2024, Atos, a French supplier of digital solutions and consultancy services, started its second training programme in Egypt with the support of Invest for Jobs. Its first programme, launched in 2022, provided training for 280 apprentices, half of whom it subsequently took on permanently. In cooperation with DSAA, Atos also offers training courses in Morocco, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. 

A project that will be launched with Xceed – an Egyptian BPO company – in spring 2025 supports inclusion in Egypt by creating jobs with a special focus on people with visual impairments. The aim is to ensure equal opportunities and an inclusive work environment. The project includes training courses, awareness-raising and cooperation with NGOs. Investment in barrier-free infrastructure and technologies is also supporting participation. 125 people with disabilities will take part in training and 100 graduates will be integrated into various parts of the company. 

Since February 2025, a project in Ghana with local and international BPO companies (eServices Africa Limited (eSAL) and Concentrix respectively) has been running specialised training programmes designed to give participants the qualifications they need in the international employment market. A BPO training component provides work-readiness courses for disadvantaged groups – such as women and displaced persons – to equip them to take up customer services jobs in the BPO sector. An IT training component offered in cooperation with the German IT company getINNOtized centres on training IT specialists in cloud computing, software engineering and data science. The aim is to prepare them for working remotely with German companies. These two components are giving the 300 participants an opportunity to acquire valuable qualifications. The goal is to create 265 good jobs in the region by 2025. 

The digital projects with DSAA companies are supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as part of Invest for Jobs on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).