Moniepoint graduates second DreamDevs cohort to boost Nigeria's engineering talent pool
Africa's leading digital financial services provider, Moniepoint, has graduated the second cohort of its DreamDevs Bootcamp, reinforcing its commitment to developing homegrown engineering talent and strengthening Nigeria's digital economy. The graduation was marked by a Demo Day event held in Lagos with the theme, Training Done! Demo Up!, where participants showcased capstone projects built to meet real-world engineering standards.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over the shortage of skilled software engineers globally and across Africa. Industry projections indicate that the global shortage of software developers could reach 85 million by 2030, resulting in economic losses estimated at $5.5 trillion.
Programme details
Designed by Moniepoint's Engineering Unit in partnership with Semicolon, the nine-week programme provided intensive training in Java Object-Oriented Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms, Software Testing, MySQL, Spring Boot APIs, System Design, Docker, Messaging Queues, Frontend User Interface development, and Cloud Infrastructure. Participants also received stipends and mentorship from experienced Moniepoint engineers, gaining practical exposure to the operational environment of one of Africa's fastest-growing fintech companies.
At the Demo Day, the participants, grouped into nine teams, presented technology-driven solutions across sectors including real estate, healthcare, event management, food services, and agriculture, demonstrating the skills acquired during the programme.
Industry insights
Speaking at the event, the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Moniepoint, Felix Ike, described DreamDevs as a long-term investment in Nigeria's technology ecosystem rather than a recruitment programme. "DreamDevs is a structural investment in Nigeria's digital economy, not a recruitment exercise, not a pipeline built solely to serve Moniepoint's hiring needs. That said, we are proud that some graduates from our first cohort are already active members of our engineering team, proof that when young African engineers are given the right training and the right environment, they can compete at the highest level," he said.
According to Ike, engineering excellence requires deliberate investment in systems, resources, and time, adding that Moniepoint has chosen to take responsibility for making such opportunities accessible to talented young engineers across the continent. He noted that while Africa's digital economy continues to attract significant investment, the talent infrastructure needed to sustain that growth remains underdeveloped.
Broader capacity-building initiatives
The DreamDevs Bootcamp, he said, complements Moniepoint's broader capacity-building initiatives across Nigerian universities and aligns with the Federal Government's technology development agenda. Moniepoint is also a key sponsor of the Federal Government's 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, which seeks to expand technical skills training nationwide. While the 3MTT programme focuses on large-scale skills development, DreamDevs provides a specialised pathway that takes participants from foundational training to potential employment opportunities within Moniepoint's engineering ecosystem.
As Nigeria's fintech sector continues to expand and deepen its technology infrastructure, Moniepoint said initiatives such as DreamDevs are critical to addressing Africa's engineering talent gap and building the skilled workforce required to drive future innovation and economic growth.
