Israeli Founder Connects 150+ African Developers to Global Jobs

When Itai Azogui worked as a product manager in Ghana between 2020 and 2022, he noticed something striking: the developers around him were incredibly talented, but local opportunities couldn't match their skills.

The mismatch wasn't unique to Ghana. Across Africa, 10 to 12 million young people enter the job market annually, yet only three million formal jobs get created each year. For tech professionals especially, this gap has meant choosing between leaving home or hoping remote work might open doors that geography had kept closed.

Azogui decided to build a bridge. In 2022, he launched Savannah as a one-person operation, starting with developers he already knew and matching them with companies in Israel. He handled everything himself at first: recruiting, marketing, reviewing resumes, and managing placements.

The model worked differently than typical outsourcing. Developers placed through Savannah became company employees, meaning Savannah handled their payments, support, and career growth. This gave Azogui's team oversight into working conditions and ensured developers weren't just placed but actually supported.

As demand grew, Savannah expanded beyond Israel into Europe. The company recruited from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, eventually placing more than 150 engineers in roles that reflected their actual abilities and offered competitive pay.

The Ripple Effect

Savannah's success comes at a crucial moment for African tech talent. Remote work, accelerated by the pandemic, has theoretically opened global opportunities. But structural barriers like hiring bias, payment systems, and legal complexity still keep qualified professionals sidelined.

The company has also adapted to new challenges. As artificial intelligence reshapes the developer job market, junior engineers face declining demand. A 2025 study found that employment for developers aged 22 to 25 with high AI exposure dropped 6%, while experienced engineers saw a 9% increase.

Savannah responded by investing in its developers' AI skills. The company now provides subscriptions to AI coding tools and trains its engineers on using them effectively, helping them stay competitive as the industry evolves.

Last month, Israeli technology company Commit acquired Savannah. For Azogui, it validated what he'd observed in Ghana: talent really is distributed evenly, and the right systems can help opportunity catch up.

The acquisition means Savannah's model will scale further, potentially connecting thousands more African developers to roles that recognize their abilities. What started as one person's observation about untapped potential has become a working solution to one of Africa's most persistent economic challenges.