Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder of blockchain infrastructure firm Mysten Labs, and his wife, Gloria Abiodun, have launched a $1.3 million endowment fund to support the training of African software engineers. The five-year fund, managed by Inurere Foundation, aims to address the talent shortage in Africa’s growing tech ecosystem by providing student loans for aspiring engineers.
The initiative will support students enrolled in the Techpreneurship programme at Semicolon Africa, a Nigerian workforce development company. Participants will receive training in advanced programming languages, including Move, which is widely used in smart contract development. Meedl Africa, a fintech company, will facilitate the loan disbursement.
Each student will be eligible for approximately ₦5 million ($3,300) in loans at a 12% annual interest rate. The repayments will be recycled to fund new students, ensuring the programme’s sustainability. Semicolon Africa, which has trained over 800 software engineers, will place graduates into jobs upon completion of their training.
Ashley Immanuel, Semicolon’s Chief Operating Officer, highlighted the importance of the fund in making student loans more affordable. “Funds are recycled, meaning many more learners can be trained over time. This fund, which isn’t seeking a financial return, can attract other funding sources to offer affordable interest rates. Nigerian financial providers are interested in student loans, but with MPR at 27.5%, their rates are too high. Blending that ‘expensive’ capital with endowment funds can make loans more affordable,” she explained.
The initiative addresses Africa’s shortage of blockchain engineers, a gap that could slow the region’s startup growth. For Adeniyi Abiodun, the fund is personal. Before co-founding Mysten Labs, he held engineering roles at JP Morgan, HSBC, Oracle, and Meta’s Novi, the now-defunct digital wallet project.
“Supporting Nigerian students while inviting more builders to learn the programming language that has defined my career is immensely rewarding,” he said. “With the rise of AI and blockchain, we are committed to ensuring African students are high-level contributors to the global tech workforce.”
With Africa’s digital economy projected to reach $712 billion by 2050, the demand for skilled tech talent is rising. Sam Immanuel, CEO of Semicolon Africa, believes the fund could serve as a model for sustainable education financing.
“We hope that more individuals—and companies—will follow in the Abioduns’ footsteps and invest in funds, like this endowment, that will engender sustainable talent development across the continent,” he said.
This initiative marks a significant step toward strengthening Africa’s tech talent pipeline, providing young engineers with the resources needed to compete in the global digital economy.
