The HNG Internship, a distinguished program offering free coding internships to Africans, has recently announced a significant leadership transition. Seyi Fade has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Mark Essien, who has stepped down from the role. Mark Essien publicly shared this development on his official Twitter page, confirming Fade's appointment.

Despite relinquishing the CEO title, Mark Essien will maintain an active involvement in the HNG Internship. He will retain his designation as 'co-founder' and continue to participate in the program's processes, including engagement in the Slack community. Essien emphasized that while the day-to-day operations will now be driven by Seyi Fade's vision, his commitment to the internship remains steadfast.

Seyi Fade, a proficient Python and JavaScript developer, is now tasked with overseeing the internship's operations. A key expectation for the new CEO is to further enhance the internship's culture, focusing on stability and robust support for its trainees. The HNG Internship is a 3-month remote program renowned for recruiting and training highly talented software developers across Africa, offered completely free of charge.

The program's methodology involves weekly tasks combined with an innovative education system that merges technology with a structured learning approach to mentor interns. Participants are introduced to complex programming frameworks and gain practical experience by working on real-world software projects, preparing them for the demands of the tech industry.

Mark Essien reiterated that the core vision of the HNG Internship remains unchanged: to significantly accelerate the growth of Nigerians and Africans into skilled software developers. He stressed that this goal is pursued through an open, barrier-free, and unbiased approach, where the only limiting factor is an individual's willingness to persevere and learn. Essien also assured that the change in leadership would not disrupt the program's operations; instead, it would reduce experimentations, allowing the internship to adopt best practices established in previous successful programs.

The HNG Internship has a proven track record of success stories, with a robust post-internship pathway designed to connect successful interns with leading companies in the tech ecosystem. This initiative frequently leads to almost immediate job placements for its graduates. The latest iteration of the program, HNG 6.0 pre-internship, is currently open for interested African applicants, symbolizing its continued commitment to fostering talent across the continent. With Seyi Fade at the helm, the HNG Internship is poised to continue being a transformative platform for many Africans aspiring to build careers in coding.