|
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC, created by Zuckerberg and
his wife Priscilla Chan, led a $24 million Series B funding in
Andela, the startup said on Thursday.
Alphabet Inc's GV, previously known as Google Ventures,
was also part of the funding round.
Andela selects the top 1 percent of tech talent from Africa,
trains them and places them in engineering organizations.
The startup, which has nearly 200 engineers currently employed
by its Nigeria and Kenya offices, will use the funds to expand
to a third African country by the end of 2016.
"We live in a world where talent is evenly distributed, but
opportunity is not. Andela's mission is to close that gap,"
Zuckerberg said in a statement.
When the philanthropy initiative was launched in late 2015,
Zuckerberg said he would put in 99 percent of his Facebook
shares.
The initiative is structured as a limited liability company.
This means, unlike a traditional charitable or philanthropic
foundation, the venture can make political donations, lobby
lawmakers, invest in businesses and recoup any profits from
those investments.
Zuckerberg has also signed the Giving Pledge, which invites the
world's wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving
more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable
causes over their lifetime or in their will.
(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sriraj Kalluvila)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
