When Adewale Yusuf and his team started AltSchool Africa in 2021, they were responding to two realities: growing global demand for technology talent and high unemployment across Nigeria and Africa.
“The idea hasn’t changed,” he told in60. AltSchool’s first application round drew a strong response, with many people registering. Since then, the school has grown beyond its initial diploma programmes and is now exploring degrees for AltSchoolers, while seeking partnerships with leading organizations in the space.
Yusuf says he sees AltSchool’s impact in the people who have passed through the school. “Today, You can’t point a big company in tech right now without finding atleast two three persons who passed through AltSchool,” he said.
He also encounters alumni while travelling. “Even now when I travel, in the US, people walk up to me and say they’re an Altschooler, and I’m proud.”
A smooth handover
Yusuf describes his transition from the CEO role as smooth. He said AltSchool was set up to keep operating even in his absence, making it possible to pass the baton to Sultan.
The decision became clearer as he moved between Nigeria and the United States. He would spend time in Nigeria, return to the US, and eventually decided to stay in the US and build there.
“I’ve always been a builder,” he said. “It’s always been to build and move forward.” When he believed it was time to move on from AltSchool, he did.
Building again
Yusuf does not see starting over in the United States as fundamentally different from building in Nigeria. He has seen people live in the US for many years and still find it difficult to start again, but believes the work of building a company is familiar across both places.
For now, he is taking his time and focusing on what comes next, including the upcoming Beyond Africa conference.
Asked what people might misunderstand about his decision, Yusuf said there was nothing in particular. The transition, he reiterated, had been smooth.