Multi-Billion Dollar Tech Company GitHub, Gives Ghanaian Developers Grand Prize of $500
People are questioning why a company valued at 7.5 billion, couldn't put more monetary support behind the young developers.
GitHub—the multi-billion dollar software development company and hosting service—has come under scrutiny after a photo surfaced, showing that the winners of their recent Hackathon in Accra had received a prize of only $500.
The company hosts "Hackathons" in major cities across Africa, including Lagos and Accra and Cape Town. According to their website, the event is a 2-day event that combines using design and engineering to solve big problems in a short time."
Given that GitHub is a company valued at 7.5 billion, the grand prize of $500 felt insubstantial, and led some, such as OkayAfrica CEO Abiola Oke to question the company's support for African developers. He took to Instagram to share the photo of the winners holding a large check for a total of $500 alongside the news of Microsoft's recent 7.5 billion acquisition of the company.
Several people commented that the check appeared to "be missing zeros," and didn't seem sufficient enough for the grand prize. Surely, a tech company as valuable and influential as GitHub could put more funds towards supporting African talent.
GitHub sent over a response on Monday in an attempt to clarify its work on the continent. "GitHub has been investing in the region over the past 2+ years with key partners like Ingressive and Andela, among others. Our work and support across the continent is wide ranging," a representative from GitHub told OkayAfrica. "The recent hackathon with Figma and Ingressive is not reflective of our ongoing investments in and support for developer communities across Africa."