Amid the ongoing shortage of technical skill sets in businesses in Africa, SAP Africa says it is already engaging with local developers to tap into the rolled out low-code solution SAP Build, designed to help business users gain control over tech – irrespective of their level of technical expertise.

SAP Build, launched at the company’s TechEd event in Las Vegas recently, ties up three previously separate solutions including SAP Build Apps, SAP Build Process Automation, and Build Work Zone, SAP Africa said it is already engaging with local developers on how to tap into the unified platform to drive innovation forward.

One of the main objectives behind the launch is to address the global issue of a shortage of skilled technical personnel. In Africa, this is a major problem.

SAP Africa says: “In Africa, we have distinct challenges – one is a lack of technical skills to drive the transformation necessary on the continent, and the other is a migration of tech skills to other markets. Amid a shortage of technology talent, SAP Build unleashes business expertise: It empowers the people who create value, run processes and solve actual business problems to drive the next wave of digital transformation within organisations. This also frees up highly skilled developer resources in market to focus on more complex projects and grow their own skills so that these resources no longer have to be outsourced.”

The company says skills development is a major focus and underlined the value of initiatives that include Africa Code Week, Dual Study program, Skills for Africa and the latest announcement of collaboration with learning platform provider Coursera Inc.

“SAP is committed to upskilling two million developers worldwide by 2025 by tripling free learning offerings on the SAP Learning site, partnering with world-class learning platform provider Coursera Inc. to help people launch careers within the SAP ecosystem, and empowering underserved audiences in technology.”

“By working with Coursera, we are able to provide training beyond the formal education system that directly addresses the skills shortage. We will continue to look for opportunities like this to partner on creating the skills needed – in this case specific developer skills,” the company adds.

A snapshot of demographics linked to these skills development initiatives, shows that there are 27,000 SAP Learning site learners from Africa (10% of world total), 4500 certified individuals in Africa (1,6% of world total), 7 500 certification exams taken this year in Africa (6% of world total) .

The top three SAP certification exams taken in Africa include SAP Certified Application Associate – SAP S/4HANA for Financial Accounting Associate; SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Core; and SAP Certified Application Associate – SAP S/4HANA Sourcing and Procurement.

SAP Africa says it has recently commissioned research in three key African markets to understand the current state of digital skills availability and challenges, and will release findings in early 2023.

Juergen Mueller, member of the Executive Board and Chief Technology Officer of SAP. (Image: Josh Line Photography)

“SAP Build brings together the world’s most powerful business applications with a platform that’s been designed to rapidly unleash business users’ expertise,” said Juergen Mueller, member of the Executive Board and Chief Technology Officer of SAP. “In a volatile business landscape, SAP Build and the full suite of innovations we’re launching - from our new partnership with Coursera to enhancements across our enterprise portfolio - help customers future-proof their business and extract maximum value from their technology investments.”

Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera Inc., adds, “I’m happy to announce that SAP is launching an entry-level professional certificate on Coursera. This certificate is designed for learners of all backgrounds, with no college degree or industry experience required. It will prepare learners for entry-level job roles and in some of the most in-demand fields. We’re honoured to partner with SAP to increase access to job-related skills and to expand economic opportunity for everyone.”