Tech developers don’t just code. They solve problems

The code language is a term that denotes a set of instructions written in a particular computer programming language and is so central to tech developers.

But the country is still grappling with securinga direct correlation between the quantity and quality of her tech developers, their ability to meet global standards and build investable startups.  

This need is partly addressed in the DevScape report published recently by the Innovation Village that sheds light on Uganda’s tech ecosystem. It presents a clear picture of the gaps in Uganda’s digital space including gender, geographic, wages and salaries, skills, resources, and in the field of software development. 

Uganda, just like any other country in the most recent years, has seen a rise in its tech industry- a development partly shaped by mobile Internet and an improved connectivity combined with a dynamic, young urban population.

The number of developers in Uganda’s tech industry has been steadily increasing with a steep rise in the last five years with 65 percent of respondents showing they wrote their first less than five years ago compared to only 1.4 percent who wrote their first code over 20 years ago.  

The report reveals that our tech community is majorly comprised of full-stack developers at 48 percent, meaning that they can do both front-end and back-end development.

Front- end and back – end development consists of the ability of a tech developer to build and maintain the technology while ensuring that website visitors can easily interact with the page. This is done through a combination of design, technology, and programming. 

“This is not surprising because of the nature of our ecosystem where a developer takes on so many roles before specialising. Globally, the demand for such developers is on the rise,” the report reads in part.

Having knowledge of computer programming is a prerequisite for becoming a software engineer.

However, the industry is constantly evolving and requires the developer to keep adapting to new technologies and standards.

For most tech developers in Uganda, their engineering journey begins in school or university with 44 percent of respondents stating that they learned how to code in school.

For its ever-changing nature, school is not the only option to join the tech world.

Today, thanks to the Internet, there is a big pool of online learning resources (both free and paid for) that make it possible for those interested in embarking on a software engineering journey to start learning.

According to the report, 29 percent of respondents stated that they learned how to code from online courses.

Other learning avenues for developers in Uganda include boot camps, hackathons, and developer groups also play a role in instilling interest and providing a foundation for software engineers

Employment

Ironically, employment in the tech world has only 30 percent of the respondents who are in full-time employment.

This, according to the report, is surprising because what has been perceived by the job market is a huge demand for developers. This could be explained by the lack of experience that employers are looking for.

However, 19 percent of the developers in the survey indicate that they are freelancers or gig workers.

 In recent times, the pandemic has created a new reality for the future of work where developers can make money from temporary work engagements commonly known as gigs. This enables small and medium enterprises to cheaply hire missing digital capabilities to perform specific tasks or work on projects as they adapt to the new normal.   

Much as some developers code as a hobby, the report reveals most are professionals in the industry and are working to earn a living.

The data from the DevScape survey concerning remuneration in the industry is informative. Developers in Uganda are still grossly underpaid compared to their counterparts in other markets.

This perhaps explains the increase in the number of engineers working remotely for overseas companies. The result is that it is difficult to find a mid to senior-level engineer willing to work for a local company.

The majority are junior developers with less experience, that is, those who wrote their first line of code less than 5 years ago or are affiliated with local tech start-ups who have less capital to spend on remuneration.

Half of the respondents feel overworked. They say that they put in 1 to 2 days every week as overtime. This correlates with the fact that nearly 42 percent are actively looking for another job.

Widening gender gap

There is still a wide gap between male and female developers with females making up only 2 percent of all the developers in Uganda. Even more, female developers tend to be front-end engineers with very few of them either backend or full-stack engineers.

The survey sought to get an idea of the distribution of developers based on their gender. In the past, there has been a very wide divide of even up to 90 percent males and only 10 percent females.

There has been a lot of effort put in to encourage females to become developers. However, the tech industry remains male-dominated.

The results show that 23 percent of the developers are female. While this number is still low, the report shows, this is a step in the right direction.

To improve on women participation in tech, Viola Nuwaha, Head of Talent at Tunga, says there should be space for an enabling environment in terms of promotions and tripling training to improve on female competitiveness.

Adapting to technology

The HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is one of the most accessible languages in the world of programming with 89 percent. It is used to describe web pages with ordinary text but does not have the same functionality as other programming languages in this list.

 JavaScript is the most used language globally and its use in Uganda is recorded at 83 percent. Most web browsers utilise it, and it is one of the easiest languages to learn.

SQL which allows programmers to query and manipulate databases has attracted use by 63 percent by tech developers. As a domain-specific language, it is designed mainly for managing data.

Python is a general-purpose programming language that empowers developers to use several different programming styles. As one of the more easy-to-learn and use languages, Python is ideal for beginners and experienced coders alike.

PHP is a widely used, open-source scripting language for managing dynamic content, databases, session tracking, and web development.

The data shows that Windows with 72 percent is the most commonly used platform followed by Linux with 48 percent and then Android with 25 percent. About 25 percent of developers are using the Mac platform for development.

Linux is more admired by developers than Windows. Linux is more powerful, secure, and versatile for developers than Windows which offers great ease of use. Linux is also lightweight, which makes it faster than Windows.  

Building capacity

The statistics in the report according to experts show close to 70 percent of people are below 26 in the tech industry, which proves it is a fertile sector to leverage on age to build Uganda’s next talent hub.

Building talent, a key concern among experts, will only be achievable if the government can enable start up development, innovation and output.  

For now, there is still a struggle to have local developers and local tech companies get government tender deals. One of the challenges identified is lack of relevant skills.

 “We still struggle to get companies to address local solutions for different reasons. Many are not certified, they lack experience, which is unfortunate,” Rowena Turinawe, a business transformation manager at the National Information Technology Authority, says.

Turinawe quotes a recent job survey that sought to match international skills. She notes, there is a huge mismatch between what skills employers are looking for and the skills Ugandan firms ask for when they are doing job placements.  

For Wilson Kiggundi, he asserts that in tech development, experience is relegated to being a third parameter.

  The most important thing is the ability of a software developer to solve a problem. A software’s ability to solve a problem doesn’t necessarily depend on how they have been around, but the most important is the fundamentals such as the right mind,” Kuggundu says.

The right way to improve yourself in the tech industry is to work with open source software- this software is downloaded and used by people every day.  

Joannah Nanjekye, a developer at IBM Canada shares her experience and says she learnt and has grown her career with the open software code.

When Nanjekye started contributing to open source, her opportunities became limitless coupled with an improvement in skills and she now works with several foreign companies.

“Stop limiting yourself to Uganda, the pandemic has shown us we can stay in Uganda, but work for people in the USA, and stop feeling guilty for trying big jobs,” she sums up.

Tech developers work on more gigs 

In recent times, the pandemic has created a new reality for the future of work where developers can make money from temporary work engagements commonly known as gigs. This enables small and medium enterprises to cheaply hire missing digital capabilities to perform specific tasks or work on projects as they adapt to the new normal.   

Much as some developers code as a hobby, the report reveals most are professionals in the industry and are working to earn a living.

The data from the DevScape survey concerning remuneration in the industry is informative. Developers in Uganda are still grossly underpaid compared to their counterparts in other markets.

This perhaps explains the increase in the number of engineers working remotely for overseas companies. The result is that it is difficult to find a mid to senior-level engineer willing to work for a local company.