Building an engineering team in Naija: hiring, comp, retention

You've landed your first real contract or closed a seed round. Now you need engineers—not contractors, not one person—a team. Within three months you need to hire three to five people who can ship, who won't ghost you, and who won't cost you more than your runway allows. The problem is that most founder playbooks assume you're in San Francisco. They don't account for the fact that a senior engineer in Lagos costs a third of one in London, that Andela is no longer the default answer, that CBN forex policy affects your hiring budget, and that the best people you know are already fielding offers from Flutterwave, Paystack, and Moniepoint.

This is the guide we've built from working with over 80 engineering-first founders at LaunchPad. It covers where to find people, what to pay them (with 2026 data), how to structure remote work without getting tangled in tax, and what actually keeps engineers from leaving when a bigger company comes calling. By the end, you'll have a hiring map, a comp framework you can defend, and three retention levers that work in the African context.

Where to hire: the channels that actually work

You have five main channels. Most founders use all of them at once, which is fine—you're not choosing one, you're stacking them.

1. Your network and warm referrals

This is the fastest and highest-quality channel. If you know someone who codes, ask them for three names. Offer them a referral bonus (₦100k–₦300k for a hire that sticks six months is standard in Lagos). The people who come through here are pre-filtered for cultural fit and have social skin in the game. In our experience at LaunchPad, 40% of early engineering hires come from founder networks, and they stay longest.

2. Twitter, LinkedIn, and public channels

Post clearly: "We're hiring a backend engineer in Lagos / remote, seed stage, equity + salary, DM me." Tag relevant communities (Nigeria DevRel, Andela alumni groups, Kano tech spaces). You'll get noise, but you'll also get people actively looking. Set a deadline for applications (two weeks), then move fast. The people who respond to public posts are often more junior or between jobs, but some are diamonds.

3. University and bootcamp partnerships

Reach out to computer science departments at universities in Lagos, Kano, Abuja, and Ibadan. Partner with bootcamps like Decagon, AltSchool, or Semicolon. You're not hiring fresh graduates to ship production code—you're hiring them as junior/mid engineers with 6–12 months of structured training already done. They're cheaper (₦400k–₦800k/month vs. ₦1.5M+ for mid-level) and often more coachable. Universities also have internship programs where you can trial someone for three months before committing.

4. Platforms and agencies

Andela still exists but is now focused on staffing for larger companies. Alternatives include Upwork (for vetting, though quality varies), Gun.io (specifically for remote backend engineers in Africa), and smaller local agencies in Lagos (Yaba has several). The downside: agencies take 15–25% commission, and you inherit someone else's hiring standards. Use this channel when you're in a hurry or need a very specific skill (e.g., Rust, Solidity).

5. Existing teams at other startups

If you know a founder at another stage-appropriate startup, ask if anyone on their team is looking to move or wants a co-founder-track equity deal. This is awkward but it works. People leave when they see a clearer path to equity upside or when they want to work on a problem they care more about. If you can offer both, you'll pull people.

For a detailed breakdown of where to source and what to look for in each channel, see How to hire engineers in Nigeria: where to look and what to pay.

Engineering compensation in 2026: what to actually pay

This is where most founders get stuck. You don't want to underpay and burn through people, but you also can't match what Paystack or Moniepoint offer. The answer is: you don't try. You compete on equity, problem, and speed of promotion.

Salary ranges by level and location

These are 2026 figures based on LaunchPad founder surveys and market data from Nairobi, Lagos, and Accra. They assume naira/local currency payment (not USD, which changes the math).

Key notes:

• These are base salary only. Benefits (health insurance, laptop, co-working space) add 10–15%.
• Remote engineers outside Lagos expect slightly less salary but more flexibility. See Remote work for African startups: pay, taxes, time zones for tax and legal nuances.
• Equity is non-diluted at grant, but you must explain the dilution path and exit timeline clearly. Many engineers don't understand equity; don't assume they do.
• If you're pre-revenue, you can offer 20–30% more equity and 15–20% less salary. If you're post-revenue, salary moves up, equity stays flat.
• Forex swings matter. If you're raising in USD but paying in naira, build in a 10% buffer for naira depreciation.

The total comp conversation

Don't just say "₦1.5M salary, 0.5% equity." Build the package:

1. Salary: ₦1.5M/month base.
2. Benefits: Health insurance (you or their family), ₦50k/month co-working or home-office stipend, annual learning budget ₦200k.
3. Equity: 0.5%, 4-year vest with 1-year cliff. Explain: "At ₦500M valuation, that's worth ₦2.5M. If we exit at ₦50B, it's ₦250M."
4. Bonus: If you're profitable or close, offer a 10–20% annual bonus tied to shipping or customer metrics.
5. Remote flexibility: If they're outside Lagos, you can drop salary 10% but offer full remote.

For a full comp framework with bonus structures and how to model equity dilution, see Engineering compensation in Africa, 2026 edition.

Hiring process: speed and signal

You have two weeks to hire. Here's the process that works:

Week 1: Screening and first calls

1. Get applications or referrals.
2. Screen for: (a) they can code (ask for GitHub or a quick coding test), (b) they've shipped something, (c) they can communicate in English or Pidgin clearly.
3. Do a 20-minute call with the founder (you). Ask: Why are they leaving their last role? What do they want to build? Do they understand the problem you're solving?
4. If they pass, move to technical interview.

Week 1–2: Technical interview

1. Have a senior engineer (or contractor, if you don't have one) do a 60-minute technical screen. System design for mid/senior, coding problem for junior.
2. Don't hire on just the coding test. Look for: Can they think out loud? Do they ask clarifying questions? Can they code under pressure without panic?
3. Debrief with the engineer: hire/no-hire, and why.

Week 2: Offer and close

1. If yes: offer same day. Verbal offer first, written offer within 24 hours.
2. Offer includes: salary, equity, start date, benefits, reporting structure.
3. Ask them to accept within 48 hours. If they're wavering, ask what's missing. Usually it's clarity on equity or role scope.
4. Get them to sign an employment contract (use a template from a Nigerian employment lawyer or Andela's old playbook—don't DIY this).

Common hiring mistakes:

• Hiring for "culture fit" over skill. Culture fit is secondary. Skill and communication are primary.
• Taking too long (more than two weeks). Fast hiring signals momentum. Slow hiring signals dysfunction.
• Not selling the role. You're competing with Flutterwave. Tell them why your problem is more interesting than another crypto/fintech job.
• Forgetting to check references. Call their last manager. Ask: Would you hire them again? Why did they leave?

Compensation strategy: equity, bonus, and raises

Once hired, you need a system for keeping them. This is where most founders fail—they pay market rate at hire, then assume the person will stay. They won't.

Equity vesting and clarity

Your offer should state:

• Total grant (e.g., 0.5%).
• Vesting schedule (e.g., 4 years, 1-year cliff). This means: no vesting for 12 months, then 1/48th per month.
• Acceleration clause: If you're acquired or hit Series B, what happens? (Typical: 50% acceleration on acquisition, 100% on double-trigger.)
• What happens if they leave before vesting ends? (Standard: they keep vested shares, lose unvested.)

Write this down. Put it in the offer letter. Don't wing it. Engineers have seen equity scams; clarity is your competitive advantage.

Salary reviews and raises

Do this annually, at a set date (e.g., January). Use this framework:

1. Market adjustment: Is their salary still in the 50th percentile for their level? If not, adjust up.
2. Performance: Did they hit their goals? Shipped on time? Helped juniors? Add 10–15% if yes.
3. Inflation: Naira inflates. Add 5–10% to match.
4. Equity refresh: If someone is past their cliff and vesting steadily, offer a refresh grant (e.g., 0.2% more) to re-align incentives.

Budget for 15–20% annual salary increase across your team in 2026. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to keep people.

Bonus structure

If you're post-revenue, tie bonuses to shipping:

• Ship a feature on time: ₦50k–₦100k per engineer.
• Hit a customer milestone: 5% of that month's salary, split among engineering.
• Zero critical bugs in a quarter: ₦150k per engineer.

Bonus should be 10–20% of annual salary at max. Don't make it so high that people feel it's guaranteed; it should feel like a win.

Retention: what actually keeps engineers

You've hired. Now they leave after six months because Moniepoint offered them ₦3M/month and a director title. How do you stop this?

1. Clarity of role and growth

Engineers leave when they don't know what they're building toward. On day one, tell them:

• What they'll own (e.g., "You own the API layer").
• What they'll learn (e.g., "You'll go from mid to senior in 18 months").
• What promotion looks like (e.g., "Senior engineer is when you lead a team of two and own a critical system").

Update this quarterly. If someone is stuck, move them. Don't let people stagnate.

2. Autonomy and trust

Micromanagement kills engineers. Trust them to:

• Choose their tech stack (within reason).
• Work async if they're remote.
• Ship without approval for small features.
• Reject bad ideas from non-engineers.

If you're hiring good people, you don't need to watch them code. You need to watch the output.

3. Compensation that tracks market

Do an annual market check. If someone is 15% below market, you've already lost them—they just haven't left yet. Fix it before they get an offer.

For detailed retention strategies and how to structure equity to align long-term incentives, revisit Engineering compensation in Africa, 2026 edition.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Hiring too fast, then firing.

You're desperate. You hire the first person who can code. Three months later, they're slow, they don't communicate, they're gone. Better: take two weeks, hire once.

Paying in USD when you should pay in naira.

If your engineer is in Lagos, pay in naira. If you pay in USD, you're making them a currency trader. They'll spend time managing forex instead of coding. Pay local currency, and manage your own forex risk.

Ignoring remote engineers.

You hire someone in Kano or Accra because they're cheaper. Then you treat them like contractors: no equity, no benefits, no calls. They leave. If you hire someone, hire them as a full employee, remote or not.

Letting people leave without exit interviews.

When someone quits, ask: Why? What would have kept you? What did we do wrong? Use this to fix your next hire.

Not investing in junior engineers.

Juniors are cheaper, but they need mentoring. If you hire a junior and give them nothing but tickets, they'll stagnate. Pair them with a mid-level engineer. Spend 5 hours/week on them. In 18 months, you have a mid-level. That's ROI.

Building culture around engineering

You can't just hire and pay people. You need a culture where they want to stay.

Ship fast, celebrate wins.

When you ship a feature, tell the team. When you hit a customer milestone, celebrate. Engineers want to see their work matter.

Code reviews are mentoring, not gatekeeping.

When someone submits a PR, review it. Ask questions. Suggest patterns. Don't just approve. This builds learning into the process.

One-on-ones, every two weeks.

Talk to each engineer individually. Ask: How are you feeling? What's blocking you? What do you want to learn? Use this to catch problems early.

Ownership over process.

Let engineers decide how they work. Standup format, code style, tools—let them choose. Process should serve engineers, not the other way around.

Scaling from three to ten

At three engineers, you manage everyone. At ten, you need structure.

1. Hire an engineering lead (around person 5–6). They own code quality, onboarding, and technical decisions. You own strategy and hiring.
2. Split into teams (around person 8). Backend, frontend, maybe infra. Each team has an owner.
3. Document everything. Onboarding docs, code standards, decision logs. You can't scale without this.
4. Invest in tooling. CI/CD, monitoring, staging environment. As you scale, you need less heroic firefighting.

FAQ

Q: Should I hire full-time or contract?

A: Hire full-time for core roles (backend, frontend, devops). Contract for specialists (design, security audit) or overflow work. Full-time people care about your codebase; contractors don't.

Q: What if I can't afford ₦1.5M/month for a mid-level engineer?

A: Hire a junior (₦700k) and pair them with a contractor/advisor (₦200k/month for 10 hours). You get two people for less than one mid-level, and the junior learns fast. This works for 12–18 months, then you upgrade.

Q: How do I compete with Paystack or Flutterwave on salary?

A: You don't. You compete on: (1) equity upside is higher at a seed stage, (2) they'll learn faster in a smaller team, (3) the problem is more interesting (usually true—they're solving fintech infrastructure, not a new payment method). Be honest about what you can't offer. Most good engineers choose based on the problem and team, not just salary.

Q: What if my engineer wants to go remote/move to another country?

A: Let them, if you can handle the logistics. Pay them in their local currency, adjust salary down 10–15% (cost of living), and figure out tax with an accountant. See Remote work for African startups: pay, taxes, time zones for the full breakdown. You'll lose some people to relocation; it's normal. Better to keep them remote than lose them.

Q: How do I know if I'm paying enough?

A: Ask your engineers annually: "Are you being paid fairly for the market?" If anyone says no, you're at risk. Do a market check (use Blind, Levels.fyi adjusted for Lagos, or ask peers). If you're below 50th percentile, raise. If you're at 60th+, you're fine.

What to do next

Start with hiring. You need a sourcing plan before you write a job description. Use the channels above—network, Twitter, universities—and move fast. Then, before you make an offer, read How to hire engineers in Nigeria: where to look and what to pay to refine your sourcing and interview process.

Next, build your comp framework. Don't guess. Use Engineering compensation in Africa, 2026 edition to model salary, equity, and bonuses for your specific situation. Run the numbers, talk to other founders, then commit to it.

Finally, if you're hiring remote or planning to scale across time zones, read Remote work for African startups: pay, taxes, time zones to avoid tax and legal landmines.

Start hiring this week. The best engineers are already getting offers; the longer you wait, the smaller your pool.