A R60-million boost from information and communication technology group BCX has enabled nonprofit technology incubator WeThinkCode to expand its intake capacity by more than double and to kick-start an expansion programme to open its next campus in Cape Town.

The tuition-free, peer-to-peer academy, basing its training concept on French-based Ecole 42’s computer-training model, was launched in 2015 to upskill high potential entry-level coders and deliver the next generation of software engineers, with ambitions of developing 100 000 coders in Africa over the next ten years.

With its new primary growth partner BCX, which will provide the funding over a three-year period, WeThinkCode can expand and upgrade its flagship Johannesburg facility and open the new Cape Town campus by the end of 2017.

By 2018, the Johannesburg city centre campus, which had an intake of only 100 students last year, and added another 200 this year, would likely boast some 400 students, while the Cape Town campus anticipated starting the first classes for 200 students, said WeThinkCode MD and co-founder Arlene Mulder.

“Coding skills are a vital component of the new digital economy, and WeThinkCode’s innovative programme is a great way to invest in the future digital minds of South Africa,” said Telkom Group CEO Sipho Maseko at the launch of WeThinkCode’s growth phase on Wednesday.

In line with this view, BCX and other companies within the Telkom group will start hosting 40 interns from WeThinkCode’s programme every year for the next three years.

BCX and Telkom previously sponsored five interns from WeThinkCode’s 2016 class.

WeThinkCode’s learning platform is open to any potential candidates between the ages of 17 and 35 – regardless of educational achievements or levels – who successfully complete certain aptitude tests and an intense four-week problem-solving bootcamp.

Following this, the qualifying students will undertake a two-year course in programming and coding, as well as concurrently completing internships at corporate sponsors and founding partners First National Bank, BBD and Derivco – and now BCX and Telkom – to ensure that their skills are applied in real-life scenarios.

Nearly 40 000 South African students applied for the programme in 2017.