## Jacquit’s Story

Jacquit comes from Andilamena in Madagascar’s rural north. His parents worked in far away villages,  so Jacquit had to take care of his brothers and sisters for most of his childhood. As the oldest child, he had to try and balance his own schooling with cooking, shopping, cleaning, and doing the laundry for his six siblings.

Failing to pass the first year of secondary school was a turning point in Jacquit’s life. He became very determined, getting up at 3:30 in the morning to do his homework. In the end, he managed to finish school in the top 1% of his peers.

As a result of his hard work, Jacquit was invited to study with Onja, a social enterprise in Madagascar that trains capable, underprivileged youth into software developers. He was chosen as one of only 19 from across the country.

## The Who Moves and Onja Partnership

Over just 2.5 years studying with Onja, Jacquit became a proficient English speaker and skilled software developer. In May 2022, he joined the Who Moves team as a front-end developer, working remotely from Madagascar.

[Who Moves](https://whomoves.de/) is Germany’s first career platform for international IT & tech talents. They match exceptional people with like-minded companies, helping to build dream careers. The job at Who Moves provides Jacquit with an exciting and fulfilling career, and enables him to earn a good salary to help support his family.

Jacquit’s initial contract was for one year, but Who Moves were so impressed with his work ethic and his performance in the role that they extended the contract.

We are so proud of Jacquit. Not only is he a valuable part of the Who Moves team, his work shows what can happen when great talent has the opportunity to shine.

To learn more about what Onja does, or to show your interest in hiring one of our talented developers, head to our website at the link below.

Website: [onja.org](https://onja.org/) | Facebook: [OnjaAfrica](https://www.facebook.com/OnjaAfrica/)

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Who Moves and Jacquit

Having a good internet connection is essential to Onja’s mission. Our developers need reliable internet not only to learn and practice coding during our training program, but they also need it when they begin working remotely with international companies.

When Onja was considering where to set up our first base in Madagascar, Ookla helped us find a spot with great internet to support the learning and professional growth of our developers. 

Read more about Onja and Ookla’s partnership below:

[How a social enterprise in Madagascar found their dream beachside location with Ookla](https://www.ookla.com/articles/how-ookla-for-good-helps-onja-in-madagascar)

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Ookla For Good

A first job can be a daunting time for anyone, however our developers already have two years experience with teamwork, building coding projects from scratch, and working with international people so they already have a head start! 

In 2021, Sandy from our first developer cohort started working with Whitespectre as part of a year-long fellowship. During this time, she gained invaluable experience working remotely and with an international team.

Read [here](https://www.whitespectre.com/ideas/whitespectre-onja-bridging-the-opportunity-gap-in-tech/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=post) about Sandy’s time with Whitespectre. 


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Whitespectre and Sandy

## Early life

Like most people in my village, my parents are farmers. 

We would grow rice, beans and peanuts, and raise chickens and cattle to sell and eat. I finished middle school with high marks for mathematics but I never went to high school. I remember wanting to become a doctor without really believing it, because I knew I couldn't afford to go to university and would probably have become a farmer too

## Discovering Onja

At first, it was really hard to study at Onja. None of us thought we would be able to do it in those years. We couldn’t really speak English in the beginning, and class was quiet because we didn’t want to make mistakes. It was challenging with the technical side, too. Most of us didn't use computers before we came to Onja so it wasn’t just about learning coding, we learned everything from keyboard shortcuts to how to type. It was hard work but it was worth it. Now we are able to speak English, talk to international people, and work with international companies, which is actually amazing. 

Jobs are really limited in Madagascar if you don’t have higher education. I know a lot of people who finish high school and then just stay home. They don’t have anything to do except farming. They just do what their parents have done. It would have been the same for me.


## Exciting Future

My life has turned out to be better than I expected. I am not working on the farms, but I have a farm of my own and I am saving up for my future. I want to be able to provide for my family, especially my children. I want them to be able to go to school and get a better education than I did.

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Developer Stories - Meet Clopedia

Today Onja was recognised as a champion of impact sourcing on [IAOP’s inaugural list](https://www.iaop.org/ISChampionsIndex) of companies that have distinguished themselves as trailblazers in Impact Sourcing.
Note that Impact Sourcing is a business practice that uses outsourcing to achieve social good and IAOP is the world’s leading Association for Outsourcing Professionals.
The list recognises organisations shaping the future of Impact Sourcing, an industry bringing decent jobs to the developing world and one that is set to grow rapidly in coming decades.
From Debi Hamill, the CEO of IAOP: “This initiative is close to my heart and it’s easy to understand why. Doing well by doing good is now more important than ever. Ensuring that disadvantaged populations have access to formal employment and decent work, allowing them to improve their conditions, acquire a career, and thus lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty is one of the most sustainable means to economic growth. I am proud of the work these organisations are doing and look forward to growing the index.”
Here at Onja, we are very grateful that our hard work and commitment to bringing true opportunity to capable youth who would otherwise be limited to unfulfilling careers, is being recognised.

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IAOP Impact Sourcing Champions Index

## Early life

I’m from Andromba, a rice-producing village near Ambatondrazaka. 

Apart from growing rice, my father is a teacher and makes mud bricks from clay in the summertime. My mother has a shop where she sells bread, snacks, pasta and yoghurt.

After middle school, I couldn't continue to high school because my parents had to pay for my younger brothers’ education. Instead, I did all kinds of jobs. Occasionally I would walk for several days to a remote village in the countryside to sell fresh vegetables, but mostly I worked for my parents - helping my mother sell from her shop and my father making bricks. I was also involved in the choir and as a young leader in my local church. However, I still dreamed of going to university, to make my parents proud of me and to get a good job later on.


## Discovering Onja

When the offer came to study at Onja, I had an opportunity to keep studying, find work, and help pay for the education of my siblings. I learned English and Software development which has enabled me to work remotely and communicate well with international teams.

Now, my vision is to help other young people like me in the future. I am proud of myself because, with Onja, I can contribute to giving the same opportunity I had to other young people like me. 

## Exciting Future

I really enjoy being part of Onja. I never expected that all the students would become such good friends. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to go to school again and learn a good profession.

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Developer Stories - Meet Rosny

## Early life

I am a farmers’ daughter from Kelilanina, a beautiful village close to Ranomafana, one of Madagascar’s most famous nature reserves. 


Apart from farming, my parents run a little shop where they sell bread, mofo gasy (a kind of Malagasy bread) and coffee. It makes their house one of the central meeting points in the village, where people gather and exchange news. 


Before I joined Onja, my vision was to learn languages so I would be able to apply for good jobs that require language skills. Unfortunately, I couldn’t succeed in this due to the numerous expenses involved. After I completed my high school degree, I spent two years with no significant job opportunities. Instead, I devoted my time to assisting my parents with their bread sales for our food and my siblings' education. 


## Discovering Onja

For me, the Onja model is great as they give opportunities for young people like me to continue their studies. Most importantly, Onja not only provides us with English and coding courses but they also ensure that all of the developers get jobs in good companies.

My vision is to deepen my knowledge of anything in my field. I believe being open to learning is always the key to success, so that one day I can be more helpful to my family, my community, and even my country.

## Exciting Future

Onja has changed my life both personally and professionally. Not only am I now independent but I am able to support my family’s basic needs. It also brings me great joy to know that I am actively contributing to the development and growth of my peers like me, empowering them with the same opportunities that they have enriched my own life.

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Developer Stories - Meet Kati

# What is impact hiring? 

Impact hiring is an innovative way to recruit talented people who, for varying reasons often outside their control, face barriers to entering the job market or finding meaningful work. 

Concepts like social procurement seek to ensure the purchase of goods and services are as ethical, sustainable and socially responsible as possible. Along a similar line, impact hiring seeks to ensure that recruitment processes deliberately include people who might be a great fit for a role, but who would not traditionally see or apply for it. 

Impact hiring consists of two parties: a) underprivileged ‘impact employees’ who are hired and b) the companies that hire them. 

Let's explore how impact hiring works for each of these parties:

### The impact employees: underprivileged people that receive an opportunity to upskill and work

In many places around the world, having a brilliant mind or the determination to work hard doesn’t mean people are able to reach their potential. 

Factors like low income, not enough jobs, or a lack of access to education are just some of the reasons why some people aren’t able to seize opportunities for challenging and fulfilling careers, despite how much they want to work.

Our students at Onja are a great example. All 19 of the first wave of students scored in the top 1% of their peers at school in Madagascar, however, because of their underprivileged backgrounds they had only a few paths available to them after school. Many would likely have followed the footsteps of their parents and worked as subsistence farmers, or ended up in other positions that do not do justice to their potential. 

After being selected for Onja, students trained for 2.5 years to speak English and learn software development and are now all working in challenging and rewarding jobs as remote developers for international companies. They have all the talent in the world; all they needed was an opportunity to upskill and utilise that talent. 


### Impact hirers: the companies who hire impact employees
 
A company can specifically focus on hiring for impact within their recruitment practices, making sure they have strategies in place to find the people who slip through the gaps. Or, impact employee providers, like Onja, can train and support disadvantaged people and link them with career opportunities. 

‘Impact hiring’ is not a well known phrase or concept. So much so that many companies who engage in hiring an impact employee will not even be consciously aware that they are impact hirers! Onja’s Partner companies (the clients that work with our developers), are a great example of this. Very few, if any, would see themselves as impact hirers, however they are in every sense of the word. 

Let's get something out of the way: impact hiring is not charity. To the right company it's a smart way to best meet a business need, with a ‘side effect’ of doing extraordinary good. Software developers are in record demand, and our partner companies are simply looking to hire the right people for their teams. When they come across Onja they see a unique way to meet this need, while also being inspired by the idea of doing good. And they tend to be pleasantly surprised with the outcome. This feedback came from one of our partners (businesses that hire our developers) after working with Sandy:

> _“Sandy has been diving into the challenges that we have given her. She is not afraid to do new things, to learn or to reach out to new people to get the job done. She asks questions when needed, works well with the wider team and just gets the job done.”_ Phillip, CTO Ecogy Energy

# Finding the right people
 
Probably the most important thing for most companies is attracting and retaining the right people. If you have the right people, everything else tends to follow. 

Impact employees have a few distinct advantages that they bring to the table. First and foremost they have incredible attitudes. Your average run-of-the-mill employee may have gone to university, did enough to pass, then jumped around in a few different positions. They know they need to work decently hard, but they are not surprised to be where they are, and have little reason to feel a strong sense of loyalty to their company. 

To contrast with impact employees like Onja’s developers - they never dreamed they would be software developers, but now that's what they really are. They come to work every day ready to give their all, with a smile and appreciation. They are supportive colleagues, and a true joy to manage. They also tend to have a much longer-term view of work, with ambition to stick around and grow with a team. The team at Sharescoops had an exceptional experience with one of our developers, Jerome. They were so happy with his work they also hired Sarah, another of Onja’s developers. 

# The impact of impact hiring 
 
Charity can be a great thing, but it doesn’t do much to develop nations economically. Businesses are what develop nations and give more opportunities for employment and economic empowerment.

A stable income and reliable work means that people can improve their living conditions and better provide for themselves and their families. At a local level, this can look like whole families having better access to health and education, and having greater financial freedom and security. On an individual level good employment can mean dignity, a sense of accomplishment, and hope for the future. 

Through training impact employees at Onja, we’re seeing what this impact looks like in practice. Our developers are paid 7x times more than they otherwise would be in the jobs that were available to them, and will go on to earn more as they gain more experience. This not only changes their lives but the lives of their families too. Now they often have the capacity to support the education of their siblings, even through university. 

The impact of impact hiring can also have wider ripples. At Onja, our Non-Developer staff also receive great opportunities that they otherwise would not have had. For many, it’s the chance to work for a cause they care about, while gaining invaluable skills, growing their careers, and working with a great team. 

# Join the impact hiring movement

When done well, impact hiring has the potential to create incredible change, bringing companies top performers while giving untapped talent an opportunity to spread their wings and fly higher than they ever thought they could. 

If more companies hired with impact in mind, it could truly transform the future of work around the world. If you’re interested in hiring a front-end developer with Onja, we encourage you to submit an expression of interest through our website at [onja.org](link). 

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Why Impact Hiring Could Change The Future of Work

## Early Life

“I was born in Fianarantsoa, a big town in the highlands. 

When I was eight, I moved with my 2 little sisters to Kelilalina, a village in the countryside where we lived with my grandmother. I really liked living there. It was quiet, and I liked helping my grandmother work in the fields farming rice and beans. I had many friends and enough free time to draw, one of my favourite hobbies. 

When I was in high school, my mother died of malaria and a few years later my grandmother died too. Recently my father died from lung disease so my brother and 2 younger sisters and I were left without parents.” 

## Discovering Onja

My high school in Keliilalina was very good. It was visited by foreigners several times which gave me the opportunity to practise my English. On the weekends I would do volunteer projects like teaching at the school. I was invited to do the Onja aptitude exam and then received an offer to study English and software development at their campus in Mahanoro.

Before I was invited to join Onja, my vision for the future was just to get any job I could and support my family.”

## Constantly Learning

“I like being at Onja. I like the way I learn things here. There are good teachers, there is good internet, and lots of ways to continuously keep learning and improving in my work. I want to be an excellent coder for Onja. The best there is. I will work very hard to achieve that goal.”

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## Exciting Future

“In the future I hope to see thousands of students at Onja contributing to Madagascar's development. I am really proud of myself that I can help to give the same opportunity to the next wave of students.”

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Developer Stories - Meet Daniel

React, SASS, Ember.js | Oct. 2021 - Sep. 2022

- Added and refacted React components for legacy Ember.js-based projects.
- Applied a new design to the platform website with React and SASS. 
- Worked closely with the back-end team to define API requirements for a React application.
- Migrated class-based components to functional components with React.
- Improved and adjusted complex filtering search frontend logic with React to match new back-end requirements.- 


Akvo

React, Typescript, CSS | Nov. 2022 - Apr. 2023

- Developing a calendar application to book meetings with React, Redux and Typescript.
- Creating modular and reusable UI components and code logic.
- Setting up linting and building tools like Prettier, Eslint and Webpack.
- Set up Jest test suits.


Onja Madagascar


React, Next.js, CSS, React Leaflet, SASS, Nginx | May 2023 - Present

- Creating a custom map interface using React Leaflet with GIS techniques.
- Developing advanced map controllers for user preference visualization with React, React Leaflet, Material UI, and CSS.
- Designing responsive drawer components with data filtering sliders using React, React Leaflet and CSS.
- Revamping the company website for modern aesthetics and technical coherence with Next.js and SASS.
- Successfully deploying applications on Nginx server, optimizing performance and scalability.




Developer Stories - Meet Daniel

Early Life

Discovering Onja

Constantly Learning

Exciting Future

Who Moves and Jacquit

Ookla For Good

Developer Stories - Meet Clopedia

Ready to make an impact with your next hire?