Kenyan tech firms struggle against Microsoft and Google in recruiting talent

Local tech companies in Kenya now find it challenging to recruit high-level employees. This is a result of the brain drain happening within the borders of this country. Tech conglomerates such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are attracting the country’s best techies.

These multinationals have much higher pay grades and as such most Kenyan tech professionals are opting to work for them.

Also, an expansion of these companies operations within the country, which has prompted massive recruitment, is presenting Kenyans with financial opportunities they simply can’t turn down.

In this case, the figures tell the whole story. These big tech corporations are offering up to Ksh1.8 million ($15,037) monthly for principal tech specialists, Ksh300,000 ($2,506) to junior tech developers, Ksh500,000 ($4,177) for mid-level techies and between Ksh800,000 ($6,683) and Ksh1.3 million ($10,860) for lead and senior roles.

Major telecommunications companies and financial institutions, which have a history of being the best paying firms, have steadily lost their best talents to these tech giants.

Smaller companies in Kenya such as Wasoko, Flocash, Twiga foods, Lori Systems, and Sendy, who had invested in and trained young engineers, have lost their talents to the multinationals.

CEO of the WPP Scangroup, Patricia Ithau, said; “You know, what's happening in this market across all of us. We have some people called Microsoft, Amazon, Google who are just mopping up our developers.”

He also noted that the solution to the problem may be to develop more talent that could serve the entire industry.

“We have a program we recruit from the university two, three months, they come in from college, and you offer them a hundred. Google tells them two hundred, there's nothing you're going to do. They're going to go. And then they go from Google. Microsoft offers them three hundred, they'll move. So until we start creating a lot more talent, it is the way of the world.” He concluded.

Tech giants like Google and Microsoft are notorious for sourcing the best talents across the globe. The high demand for their products and services calls for the best hands to be on deck. As a result, these companies spare no expense when looking for employees to join their organizations.