Hire software engineers in Africa
CareerBuddy recruits software engineers across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Egypt, and delivers three vetted candidates within four business days of a signed brief. A mid-level software engineer costs $18,000–$30,000 a year and a senior software engineer $28,000–$45,000, depending on market. We can also employ them for you through our employer of record, so you need no local entity.
- Time to first shortlist
- 4 days
- Free replacement window
- 90 days
- Countries covered
- 5
- Vetting screen
- Top 5%
Trusted by teams building across Africa
- 4-day shortlists
- Compliant EOR & payroll
Roles we recruit
- Backend Engineer
- Frontend Engineer
- Full-Stack Engineer
- Mobile Engineer
- DevOps Engineer
- QA Engineer
Where the talent sits
Lagos, Nairobi, Cape Town, Accra and Cairo are the primary engineering hubs on the continent, and we source nationally from each. We recruit backend, frontend, full-stack, mobile, DevOps and QA engineers across the five African markets we cover.
How we vet software engineers
Every candidate is screened by a human recruiter against the criteria in your brief before they reach your shortlist. Only around the top 5% of applicants get through.
- CV and portfolio screen against role-specific criteria
- Structured competency interview with a human recruiter
- Technical or domain assessment set by sector specialists
- Reference and credential checks before shortlisting
What software engineers cost across Africa
Mid-level software engineers benchmark around $18,000–$30,000 in annual gross base salary; senior software engineers around $28,000–$45,000. South Africa anchors the top of the range; Egypt the bottom. Employer statutory costs on top vary by market — pension in Nigeria is 10%, in Kenya 12%, in South Africa 8%, in Ghana 13% and in Egypt 11%. CareerBuddy's employer-of-record fee sits between $379 and $549 per employee per month depending on country.
Employing software engineers without a local entity
You can employ software engineers in any of the five African markets we cover without registering a local entity. CareerBuddy acts as the legal employer through our own registered entities; you direct the work and pay a single monthly invoice.
- Compliant local employment contracts issued under our entity
- Monthly payroll, income tax withholding and statutory filings
- Pension, health cover and statutory benefits administered
- Documented onboarding and compliant offboarding
Salary snapshot by market
Annual gross base salary in USD, mid-level and senior. Full role-family breakdowns and employer costs are on each country's salary page.
| Country | Hub | Mid-level | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Lagos | $25,000 | $37,500 |
| 🇰🇪 Kenya | Nairobi | $22,500 | $34,000 |
| 🇿🇦 South Africa | Cape Town | $30,000 | $45,000 |
| 🇬🇭 Ghana | Accra | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 🇪🇬 Egypt | Cairo | $18,000 | $28,000 |
Tell us what you need
Describe the role or the team and we will come back with a shortlist and a current salary read across the five African markets we cover.