2019 IN RETROSPECT

Hello there! Happy New Year! We trust 2020 is already off to a great start.

Thanks to you and a host of our other clients and partners, 2019 was by all standards a great year for us. The previous year saw us execute a number of projects and participate in events which helped impact our ecosystem positively. 2019 saw us provide first rate developers for our esteemed clients, as well as build great products. We also expanded our client base to include big players in the Fintech sector.

In March, we were part of the 20 startups invited for the Innovation Showcase Week. The event which was a 3-day expo for startups in the Facebook Start Accelerator and CcHUB Incubation Program featured a wide range of solutions on display and topnotch developers onsite.

That same month, we also launched our Saucecode Campus Alpha Programme. This Campus Alpha Programme is a community of tech talents in institutions across Nigeria, with the sole aim of helping them graduate as job-ready developers. We presently have Campus Alphas in 10 higher institutions of learning across Nigeria, with the number set to quadruple this year.

From April till June, we had our annual Saucecode Hackathon. 2019’s theme was ‘Open Sauce: The New Tribe’. A play on the word ‘Open Source’, the theme was centered on the evolution of a new class of developers who understand the benefits of open source technology.

84 teams signed up to build solutions around our 8 problem statements. At the end of the voting round, the 10 teams with the highest number of votes progressed to the semi-finals stage. The teams’ prototypes were then assessed and our 5 finalists emerged. The Grand Finale of the Saucecode Hackathon was held on June 29, 2019.

Our panel of esteemed judges at the event featured Damilola Teidi, Emeka Okoye, Segun ‘Segalink’ Awosanya, and Averi Thomas-Moore.

Team YouDefine eventually emerged Champions of Saucecode 2019 and they were rewarded with a grand prize of $1,000.

A full recap of the Saucecode Hackathon 2019 can be read here https://medium.com/findworka-community/saucecode-2019-the-new-recap-a9fcf3793e73

In October, our partnership with the Fintech Association of Nigeria saw us as part of the distinguished guests at the Nigeria Fintech Week where we provided deeper insight into the Linux Community and established how the association can build a strong business relationship with software developers.

The same month, we flagged off Findworka Academy 2.0. The Findworka Academy is a fellowship programme designed for aspiring developers to receive training from first-rate developers, with a curriculum designed to help students build a strong technical background. The three-month training programme will be concluded in early February 2020 with internship placements for all students which will last for three months.

In November, our CEO, Dele Bakare was a panelist at TechPlus 2019 where he spoke at the session: ‘EQ and Soft skills — The workplace superpower and how to use them to build your career.’

Following a very successful year, we ended 2019 on a high with a team retreat in December.

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