Zaio Institute of Technology CEO Mvelo Hlophe.
The Zaio Institute of Technology has placed 103 graduates from its coding programme in tech roles across nine provinces – with women slightly outnumbering men (53 versus 50).
The organisation was founded in SA in 2017, with the mission of empowering African youth through a tech-focused curriculum.
It offers online, accredited coding bootcamps, of between six to seven months duration, designed to equip young people with practical, job-ready skills in fields like software development, data science and cyber security.
All programmes are 100% online, making them accessible from anywhere in SA.
“Our core goals are to bridge the digital skills gap in SA, improve youth employability by offering career-aligned tech education and democratise access to quality coding education regardless of background,” says Zaio CEO Mvelo Hlophe.
“The 103 young coders who completed last year were placed in jobs across South Africa within the first two months of 2025. Zaio trains an estimated 600 to 800 youth per year, with a high completion rate of 81%.”
According to Hlophe, the graduates have been placed in jobs across sectors, including banks (First National Bank and Absa), non-profits and foundations (Girl Hype and Africa Inspired Foundation), and consulting and start-up firms (Ecolabs and Torho Technologies).
Their current roles include junior software developer, data analyst, junior data scientist and front-end developers.
Zaio has a placement team and industry partnerships, providing career support services (CV prep, mock interviews, LinkedIn optimisation) and prospective employer partnerships with start-ups and established tech companies, adds Hlophe.
“We’re also expanding formal collaborations with placement partners and recruitment platforms to increase post-bootcamp opportunities.”
Discussing SA’s tech skills crisis, Hlophe points out: “There are three key root-causes of the shortage of IT skills in SA: limited access to quality tech education, especially in rural and underserved areas; the brain drain, with skilled professionals leaving for overseas opportunities; and outdated university curricula, which often lag behind current industry demands.”
The skills dearth has seen a spike in companies searching for tech skills, particularly in light of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, edge computing and robotics, he adds.
“The key factors that boost demand for coding skills in SA include digital transformation across industries (banking, retail and healthcare); rapid growth of start-ups and the tech ecosystems in Cape Town, Joburg and Durban; and government and corporate investments in 4IR [fourth industrial revolution] and digital skills development.”
