Andela, once valued at $1.5B, appoints Uber exec as new CEO

Formerly the global leader of drivers at Uber, Carrol Chang is now appointed as the new chief executive officer for Andela. Founded a decade ago, Chang is expected to take over Andela in the pursuit of a new growth trajectory after many challenges in the recent past.

Jeremy Johnson and a team of Africa-based entrepreneurs created Andela, training and placing junior developers in contracts with U.S. businesses. Demands for remote workers surged during the pandemic and consequent shifts in the job market, which was then accompanied by a huge funding boost by SoftBank in 2021, raising a $200 million Series E round, taking its valuation up to $1.5 billion. But when interest rates began to rise and people stopped being quite so interested in remote work, the company's growth flatlined.

Yet despite this background of challenges, Andela seems to have had a moderate revenue growth, with sales that have just doubled over five years. However, the company just reported that it has increased sales by 15% this fiscal year on the backdrop of the rise in interest of generative AI and a persistent need for flexible talent. These events still leave a substantial portion of the company's funding round capital in wait.

The appointment of Carrol Chang is a new chapter for Andela. At Uber, Chang played an important role in building its driver and courier network. She saw their numbers surge amidst the pandemic. Now, she plans to apply a version of the approach at Andela, focused on understanding the needs of customers and making a better marketplace for talent.

Under Chang's leadership, Andela will continue to connect a global pool of talent with corporate clients, which also include major companies like Cloudflare and Goldman Sachs. Now operating as a direct marketplace, the company links contractors with businesses and offers software to manage performance.

Although Chang and Johnson, who will remain on Andela's board, believe that its adaptive hiring model is going to grow in value as companies look for specific skills in the AI era, the company's model is checkered at best. Andela's model has been under heavy criticism from workers in Africa and likened to Uber's contractor model. However, both Chang and Johnson remain committed to the promise of providing opportunities and fair compensation.

The future success of Andela will therefore rely upon Chang's effectiveness to guide the company toward this goal while taking technology by the reins to affect change in the talent marketplace. Johnson's continued interest in the firm, through holding a board position, means he is still committed to Andela's success as he transitions from its daily running.