Stuttgart, 03/09/2025: In the current edition of the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Magazin Wirtschaft, Prof. Dr. Stefan Liebing has authored a guest article that looks at the recruitment of IT specialists from Africa as a possible solution to the acute shortage of skilled workers in Germany.
The article is based on the results of a joint event organized by the ReThinking Africa Foundation and the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce and Industry in July this year. The aim was to take a realistic look at the potential of African skilled workers for German companies. The initiative follows on from the presentation of the Africa Leadership Award at HANNOVER MESSE 2025, which honored innovative companies in the IT sector.
Skills shortage in Germany, opportunities in Africa
Germany currently has a shortage of around 150,000 IT specialists. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly affected by this bottleneck. At the same time, dynamic ecosystems are emerging in Africa: countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and Nigeria are training tens of thousands of programmers every year and creating an environment that attracts start-ups and international investors.
The German government has recognized this development and signed initial migration agreements, for example with Kenya. These are intended to make it easier for African skilled workers to gain a foothold in Germany. For companies, this opens up the opportunity to attract urgently needed talent and thus secure their digital competitiveness.
Challenges and opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises
In addition to traditional labor migration, an alternative model is gaining in importance: German companies are going directly to Africa. They are setting up branches or cooperating with local IT companies to implement projects on site.
The conditions are often better than expected: well-educated graduates, modern 5G mobile networks, and a young, digitally affine population. Challenges such as bureaucracy and cultural differences remain, but the advantages are increasingly outweighing them. For small and medium-sized enterprises, outsourcing in Africa not only opens up access to skilled workers, but also to new markets and growth opportunities.
Liebing emphasizes that stronger cooperation between German and African IT ecosystems can not only help solve the shortage of skilled workers, but also stimulate sustainable economic growth on both continents.
Source (german): https://www.ihk.de/blueprint/servlet/resource/blob/6595988/09a0bc4e7cc517a014de885811ca5d2c/mw7-8-data.pdf
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