We built TalentLayer because the standard model was never going to serve the people we wanted to reach.
Over the past decade, engineering hiring on the African continent has gone through a familiar arc. First there was no infrastructure at all. Then outsourcing shops arrived, and a generation of engineers did work that was serious but unacknowledged, paid less than it was worth, invisible to the companies who ended up using it.
Then came remote-first, and everything changed except the part that mattered. Engineers in Lagos and Nairobi could now take jobs in San Francisco and Berlin. If they could get past the recruiter, the ATS, the four interview rounds, the visa question, and the silent assumption that African engineers are a discount, not a hire.
That last part is what TalentLayer is against.
African engineers are not cheap. They are under-discovered. The companies that figure this out before their competitors will have an edge that compounds for years.
The talent has been ready for a long time. What’s missing is a layer of trust between that talent and the companies hiring globally: a small, careful team that reads every application, runs a real vetting process, and stakes its reputation on every placement.
That’s the work. That’s what this is.
- A small team that reads every application a human being sends us.
- A vetting process that ends in a hiring recommendation, not a résumé.
- A fixed 10% placement fee, paid once, only if you hire.
- A 30-day replacement guarantee we actually honor.
- Not a job board or a sourcing tool.
- Not a recruiter calling every candidate on LinkedIn.
- Not an outsourcing agency billing hours.
- Not a staffing firm trading in volume.
Ola Adegbite
Lagos / everywhere
Talk to us.
If you’re hiring, start with the request form. If you’re an engineer, apply to be vetted. For anything else (press, partnerships, curious questions), write to ops@talentlayer.com.