How this Saudi app developer is nurturing talent

A shortage of app developers worldwide is creating a serious bottleneck for tech companies and startups.

In Saudi Arabia, where the average smartphone has 28 apps, demand for apps is higher than supply.

Saudi game developers Abdullah Hamed and Abdullah Konash told Wamda in April that Saudi Arabia not only lacks mature talent and high-quality design skills, large corporations continuously recruit good developers, leaving startups scrambling for talent. One Saudi startup is taking steps to combat this.

Corporate responsibility

Majed Al Thagafi, (left, images via Ibtikar) founder of app-developing companyIbtikar, believes that corporates have a responsibility to society to help qualified students and fresh graduates with the right skillsets to reach their potential.

Al Thagafi, who wasnominated for Ernst and Young entrepreneurship award, spoke with Wamda about his experience in this sector and his efforts at solving his country’s lack of technical talent and skills.

A fan of the game Baloot, Al Thagafi partnered with King Abdullah University in Saudi and two other universities in Alexandria, Egypt to provide computer science students with summer internships. Interns work on Ibtikar’s projects with experienced developers, and competent candidates receive job offers upon graduation.

“You rarely find well-qualified talents, despite the presence of top universities,” he said. “The curriculums are outdated and not in pace with the era of advanced technology.”

Original article by Ahmed Gabr

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How this Saudi app developer is nurturing talent