Unity Technologies has slowly begun to establish itself as a key player in the African gaming space, by securing a number of strategic partnerships. Following their agreement with the Senegalese government in late 2019, they’ve now sealed a new deal with Ethiopian Gebeya.

This partnership between Gebeya and Unity Technologies aims to fill in this gap by training top developers in Unity, equipping them with the skills required to compete in the international market, and creating job opportunities for them in the international market.

This partnership is quite timely. Gebeya has recently raised 2 Million USD seed capital from prominent and strategic VC firms. The investment co-led by Partech and Orange Digital Ventures and followed by Consonance Investment Managers. With this investment, Gebeya is working towards growing the number of highly competent and competitive talents in its marketplace and providing them with more substantial outsourced job opportunities from across the globe. Gebeya strongly believes in creating a mutually beneficial partnership with dedicated companies to create better and progressive opportunities by providing a practical and effective solution to the lack of well-trained software professionals in the market.

Qene Games, an award-winning East-African gaming startup behind games such as Kukulu and Gebeta, will be one of the first gaming studios working with Gebeya in providing internships, on-ground training, and job opportunities to the initial cohorts of Unity game developers. Gebeya was a strong supporter of Qene during its early stages. Dawit Abraham, CEO/Founder of Qene Games, and of one of the earliest Gebeya talents says: “The biggest challenge we continue to face as a gaming studio in East Africa is the lack of well-trained and professional game developers in the market. Even if many developers are interested in gaming, they don’t usually pursue it as a career due to the lack of an industry that can use their skills. We are happy to be part of this great cause in empowering the creative African youth and helping them earn their place in the global gaming industry.”

This partnership between Gebeya and Unity Technologies will introduce a comprehensive set of training in not only developing in Unity, but also 3D Art, Rigging, Animation, Shading, Effects, AR, VR, and architectural and cinematic visualizations. The training will be geared towards helping individuals acquire the expertise required to qualify for the respective Unity standardized certifications. Gebeya will be able to generate revenue through tuition and certification payments from individuals, corporations and other entities and the partnership will also ensure the placement of potential Unity developers in Gebeya’s marketplace.

“The commitment of Gebeya and Unity Technologies to provide an accessible and progressive tech platform is an essential part of the partnership,” said Amadou Daffe, CEO and Co-founder of Gebeya. He added “Establishing a strong foothold in the African market hasn’t been done before, and this strategic agreement comes at a pivotal time for Gebeya, whose focus on accelerating the several parts of its talent matching business model whilst bolstering the creation of tech communities and the increase of a varied talent pool.

Gebeya Inc, is an Ed Tech and online software outsourcing marketplace company geared towards the development of Africa’s technological scene.