BNI Europa join efforts to combat digital illiteracy in Portugal

BNI Europa, through Puzzle, its online credit brand, created a partnership with <Code for All_> to provide financial aid to anyone who wants to learn to become a IT developer. This <Code for All_> project aims to convert unemployed people or professionals from other areas into IT developers. This partnership provides an intensive code training program of 14 weeks supported by an online credit solution that offers special payment conditions to the program’s students. It also enables anyone interested to access this training program, but that faces financial limitations, to finally do so.

At this moment, registrations are open for 60 vacancies distributed by the 3 new bootcamps taking place in Lisbon, Fundão, and Ilha Terceira (Azores). The partnership with Puzzle is for now only available to the Lisbon bootcamp. According to João Magalhães, co-founder of <Code for All_>, “The bootcamp doors are open to anyone wanting to become an IT developer with a guaranteed job.”. This is made possible through Puzzle’s financing solution with subsidized rates, long-term maturities, and a grace period that allows trainees to start paying the credit only once the training program is finished and when they’re already working. <Code for All_> says the rate of employability for their courses currently stands at 96%.

Pedro Pinto Coelho, Banco BNI Europa Executive President, says that “the bank has been strongly committed to the development of partnerships with start-ups focused on Fintech innovation. This collaboration with <Code for All_> allows us to reinforce this strategic line and add a new layer of social responsibility to our operations by facilitating access to this program, whilst contributing to the development of digital knowledge in Portugal.“.

In activity since 2015, <Code for All_> says that it has already trained 222 professionals from many different areas into IT developers. With this partnership, a challenge is launched so that any “bright mind” motivated to learn programming, regardless of age, academic background, professional or financial situation, can do so by obtaining easy, fast and simple financing with favorable payment conditions.

Puzzle and <Code for All_> join efforts to respond to the high rate of qualified unemployment and growing need in IT related functions, with the mission to, by 2020, requalify and place 10,000 candidates in the market, and combat digital illiteracy in Portugal.