Towards the end of 2024, we made a big decision—we were going to open our doors to interns! Not just any interns, though. We wanted people who were truly passionate about tech, with pre-existing skills in their chosen fields, whether it was software development, social media management, product design, or something in between. Also, this was going to be a paid internship.
The goal was to discover and highlight talented Nigerians who may not otherwise have the resources to excel in their desired tech fields. Our vision was to provide them with access to essential resources and mentorship, enabling them to maximize their skills.
This initiative wasn’t about offering training, but about providing the support and guidance necessary for self-driven individuals to succeed in their chosen field.
So, we put out an ad, and within days, the applications started rolling in. Over 60 people applied—way more than we expected! It was exciting but also a bit overwhelming because, as much as we wished we could take them all, we only had room for three people for the internship.
The Selection Process and Interviews
The selection process was tough. But after reviewing all the applications, we narrowed it down to 9 candidates who showed real promise. We first selected candidates based on the thoroughness of their application responses. From there, we moved on to the first round of interviews, where we evaluated not only their technical skills but also their drive, enthusiasm, and problem-solving abilities.
The second round of interviews further challenged the candidates with real-world scenarios, and eventually, after much deliberation, we landed on our three final picks. These three stood out for their passion, potential, and the unique skills they brought to the table. We then extended internship offers to these top picks.
Unfortunately, the third candidate we extended an offer to went silent at the last minute, leaving us unable to move forward with their application.
How It’s Going…
On January 20th, 2025, the internship officially kicked off! It was an exciting day. Our interns were introduced to their mentors and supervisors and were immediately thrown into real-world projects, where they were given the chance to apply their skills and learn on the go.
Just weeks into the internship, we’ve already seen incredible progress from our interns;
Gift, our software development intern, has really impressed us so far. He took on a challenging project early on, building an online restaurant website from scratch. And we’re excited to see how much he has progressed so far.
On the social media front, Gabby has been a standout. She jumped into the role with little experience but quickly took charge of various aspects of our social media presence. From creating content strategies to designing detailed content calendars. She even started dabbling into video editing! She has already edited a few videos for our social media platforms.
Beyond work, it’s important to us that our interns feel like a valued part of the team, which is why they’re included in team bonding activities, from brainstorming sessions to casual hangouts. Our interns are free to share ideas, voice opinions, and offer feedback.
Looking ahead, we’re incredibly excited about what’s to come. The progress our interns have made in such a short time has been impressive, and we’re hopeful that they’ll continue to thrive as the internship unfolds. We’ve seen them rise to challenges, learn quickly, and tackle new tasks with enthusiasm—traits that are so important in any career.
If you missed out on the opportunity to join the internship this time around, don’t worry—keep your eyes and ears open for the next cohort! We’ll be opening applications again soon, and for those who applied before but didn’t make it, we encourage you to give it another shot next time. We promise that if you’re selected, we’ll do our best to make it worthwhile.
Until next time,
Ciao!