Starting in tech can be very challenging. It's even more difficult if you're from a third world country with limited opportunities and difficult living conditions. From lack of constant electricity to expensive internet data plan, it seems everything is against your progress.

Adding to this, most tech companies would rather hire someone with many years of experience than a newbie and very few companies and training institutions have a working system to train interns in the industry.

On the other hand, anyone with a burning desire to excel in tech will always find a way to overcome these challenges in one way or another. Thankfully we have a lot of young Africans who are defying all odds to climb to the peak of excellence in their various tech careers.

A lot of organizations and community leadership programs have been designed to make it easier for Africans interested in tech to find their footing. We appreciate these programs. These programs have an excellent track record of producing exceptional developers every year. Developers who finish their training from these programs are usually well-groomed to world-class standards.

Some of these tech Opportunities are outlined below with links to their application page.

1. Google Africa Developer Scholarship: The program is aimed at engaging with existing and aspiring developers to help them build the skills they need to get a job in tech after the program is over. The Google Africa Developer Scholarship (GADS) program gives participants free access to select courses, projects, embedded labs (powered by Qwiklabs) and skill assessments; plus support from the Google Developer community. The resources available in this program will help developers build the skills necessary to get their Google certification. Link: Apply Here

2. Microsoft 4Africa Skillslab Partnership: Microsoft SkillsLab is an Apprenticeship programme developed by Microsoft 4Afrika to upskill talented youth and address the digital skills gap in the industry and the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The SkillsLab programme develops digital skillsets on cloud and emerging technologies, coding capabilities and workplace readiness of young university graduates.. Link: Apply Here

3. Zuri Internship: Zuri internship is an engineering-as-a-service business that helps companies build remote teams quickly and cost-effectively. It is a remote internship that enables you to learn and improve your skills by working on real-world projects. Link: Apply Here

4. Andela Learning Community: ALC is a community with a common goal to help you build the skills that will enable you to advance in your career. Over the past four years, ALC has trained over 100,000 learners and supported many of them to land a job opportunity in the tech space. Link: Apply Here

5. She-code Africa Summer Code Camp: The She Code Africa Summer Code Camp is targeted at High school girls from across Africa to stimulate and nurture their interests in STEM. The participants aged (10-18 years) will be hosted by accomplished African women in STEM through a series of fun and engaging activities and events, all for FREE. In addition to training, the program will also provide learning materials and resources for the participants to get started and keep learning. Link: Apply Here

1. Hotelsng Internship (HNGinternship): The HNG internship is a 3-month remote internship designed to find and develop the most talented software developers. Everyone is welcome to participate (there is no entrance exam). Anyone can log into the internship using their laptop. Link: Apply Here

At the end of these internships, training and mentorship programs don't forget that things don't work like the western world. You have to build trust with your local community. Build a lot of projects so you can gain experience relevant to your chosen field and don't forget to put yourself out there.