Commit acquires Savannah to enter Africa’s growing software talent market
The deal reflects rising pressure on global companies to find new sources of experienced developers.
Software services company Commit has acquired Savannah, a young, bootstrapped firm focused on recruiting and employing experienced software developers from African countries, in a deal estimated at several million dollars, according to people familiar with the transaction.
The acquisition marks Commit’s formal entry into the African technology talent market, as competition for experienced developers intensifies globally and traditional outsourcing hubs grow more expensive and crowded. While the purchase price was not disclosed, the deal was completed in cash and will see Savannah’s founder, Itai Azogui, and its entire team join Commit and continue to operate the business.
Founded in late 2022 and grown without external funding, Savannah has recruited more than 100 developers within three years, placing them at dozens of companies including Firefly, Aqua Security, Port, and Bright Data. The company specializes in building dedicated development teams for startups, using an outsourcing model tailored to what it describes as Africa’s growing pool of experienced, English-speaking engineers.
Commit already employs hundreds of developers through its offshore operations in Eastern Europe, and Savannah will now operate as part of that division under its CEO, Evgeny Golubov.
The company is betting that Africa represents an underutilized alternative to established outsourcing markets such as Eastern Europe and India, which have become increasingly competitive. Savannah’s focus has been on countries including Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, which together account for a large English-speaking population and a growing number of developers with strong academic backgrounds and exposure to modern AI-driven development tools.
Azogui, Savannah’s founder and CEO, first encountered the African tech ecosystem while working as a senior product manager in Accra, Ghana. There, he worked directly with local developers and identified what he saw as a gap between the quality of talent available on the continent and its limited access to well-funded global startups. Savannah was built to bridge that gap, developing internal methods to identify suitable developers, address R&D bottlenecks, and accelerate onboarding for fast-moving technology companies.
