AI and research talent, from Africa.

Cairo has the largest AI/ML research community on the continent; Lagos, Nairobi and Cape Town add applied ML talent from fintech and mobility. We recruit ML engineers with production experience — model deployment, MLOps, LLM applications and applied research — as well as senior engineers cross-training into AI.

Cairo and Cape Town have the largest formal data-science communities in Africa; Lagos and Nairobi provide strong applied-ML talent working on payments, credit and fraud. We recruit data scientists, data engineers and analytics engineers across the African markets we cover, including candidates with published research and production ML experience.

Every candidate is screened by a human recruiter against the criteria in your brief before they reach your shortlist: a CV and portfolio screen against role-specific criteria, a structured competency interview, a technical or domain assessment set by sector specialists, and reference and credential checks. If a hire leaves within 90 days, we replace them free.

Mid-level AI/ML engineers and data scientists benchmark around $18,000–$30,000 in annual gross base salary; senior AI/ML engineers and data scientists 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.

Yes. You can employ AI/ML engineers and data scientists 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 — compliant local contracts, monthly payroll and statutory filings, pension and benefits, onboarding and offboarding — while you direct the work and pay a single monthly invoice.