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Open Source in Africa: How to Start Contributing in 2026

6 min read

A practical guide to open source for Kenyan and African developers: making your first contribution, programmes with mentors, licences and Kenya's new OSPO.

To start contributing to open source from Kenya or anywhere in Africa, pick a project you already use, read its contributing guide and fix a small issue marked for newcomers. GitHub counted 753,325 developers in Kenya in the second quarter of 2026, so you will find local peers. Programmes such as Outreachy and Google Summer of Code add mentors, and Outreachy pays a stipend.

Open source is software whose code anyone can read, use and change under a licence. Most startup stacks, from Linux servers to web frameworks such as React, are built on it. This guide covers why it matters for African builders, how to make your first contribution, which programmes support contributors and how to license your own code. I checked every figure and programme on its source on 5 November 2026.

Why does open source matter for African builders?

It lowers the cost of building. You can use tested tools such as PostgreSQL or React without licence fees and spend your budget on the problem you are solving. Contributing also gives you a public record of your work that employers and clients anywhere can read.

The developer base is growing fast. GitHub's Innovation Graph counted 753,325 developers in Kenya and 1,958,524 in Nigeria in the second quarter of 2026, up from 616,490 and 1,675,852 in the last quarter of 2025. GitHub's Octoverse 2025 report says Africa and the Middle East added 3.4 million developers between 2024 and 2025, and it names Kenya among the countries projected to add millions more.

Africa already has open source projects used far beyond the continent. Ushahidi began in Kenya in 2008 as a tool to map reports of post-election violence, and it describes its software as open source. Its platform code is public on GitHub and was updated as recently as October 2026.

Is the Kenyan government using open source?

Kenya's State Department for ICT and Digital Economy announced a National Open-Source Programme Office (OSPO) at the Global Digital Public Infrastructure Summit in Cape Town in November 2025 (TechAfrica News). It was developed under the ITU's Open-Source Ecosystem Enablement project with support from Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Kenya is one of two pilot countries alongside Trinidad and Tobago (ITU).

The office's stated aims include coordinating open source adoption across government, academia and the private sector, building skills in governing and securing open source software, and reusing digital public goods to reduce duplicated government ICT spending. If you build or maintain open source tools, watch the Ministry of ICT for consultations and partner calls.

How do I make my first open source contribution?

  1. Start with a tool you use. You already know where it frustrates you. Find its repository on GitHub or GitLab.
  2. Read the README, the CONTRIBUTING file and the code of conduct. They tell you how maintainers want issues and pull requests written.
  3. Look for issues labelled "good first issue" or "help wanted". Many maintainers use these labels for tasks suited to newcomers.
  4. Comment before you start. Ask to take the issue so two people do not do the same work.
  5. Keep your first pull request small. A documentation fix, a missing test or a clear bug fix is easier to review than a new feature.
  6. Respond to review. Expect requests for changes. Answer them politely and push updates to the same branch.

Documentation, translation and testing count as contributions too. For a project with African users, a Kiswahili translation or a guide to running the tool on a slow connection is a contribution you may be better placed to make than a maintainer elsewhere.

Which programmes support open source contributors?

  • Outreachy. Paid, remote, three-month internships in open source for people who face under-representation, systemic bias or discrimination in the tech industry. The total stipend is US$7,000. Internships run May to August or December to March, and applications for the May 2026 round were open from 6 to 13 February 2026 (Outreachy). Check the site for the next window.
  • Google Summer of Code. New contributors work on a project with an open source organisation under a mentor. For 2026, contributor applications ran from 16 to 31 March and coding began on 25 May. Google says about 75% of projects last 12 weeks, and applications usually open in March (Google).
  • Hacktoberfest. An October event, powered in 2026 by MLH and DEV with DigitalOcean as presenting partner. The 2026 edition ended on 31 October and centred on building with open-weight models and open source AI (Hacktoberfest).

How should I license my own open source project?

Add a licence file before you share code, so people know what they may do with it. The Choose a License guide describes two common choices:

  • MIT. Short and permissive. People can do almost anything with your code, including releasing closed source versions.
  • GNU GPLv3. People can do almost anything except distribute closed source versions, so shared improvements stay open.

For example, a team publishing a small library for mobile money integration might choose MIT so other companies adopt it freely. A team that wants anyone shipping its code to share their changes might choose GPLv3. Before you launch a product, check the licence of every dependency, and ask a lawyer if a licence is unclear.

Can a startup make money from open source?

Yes, although the code itself is usually free. Common models include charging for hosting, set-up, support and training, or keeping an open core with paid features on top. Each model carries costs, so test whether customers will pay before you rely on one. Building openly also helps you find early users, which our guide to building in public covers.

If you would like people to contribute alongside, our Hackhouse events bring developers together in Nairobi, and you can work from the house at 124 Manyani East Road on a day pass for KES 1,000.

Key facts

  • GitHub counted 753,325 developers in Kenya in the second quarter of 2026 (Innovation Graph).
  • Africa and the Middle East added 3.4 million GitHub developers between 2024 and 2025 (Octoverse 2025).
  • Kenya announced a National Open-Source Programme Office in November 2025, built with ITU support.
  • Ushahidi, an open source platform, began in Kenya in 2008.
  • Outreachy internships are remote, last three months and pay a US$7,000 stipend.
  • Google Summer of Code 2026 took contributor applications from 16 to 31 March.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be an expert programmer to contribute to open source?

No. Many projects need documentation, translations, tests and bug reports. Start with an issue labelled "good first issue" and keep your first pull request small.

Can I use open source software in a commercial product?

Usually yes, within the licence terms. MIT lets others release closed source versions, while GPLv3 does not allow distributing closed source versions. Check each dependency's licence before launch.

When does Google Summer of Code take applications?

Contributor applications usually open in March. In 2026 they ran from 16 to 31 March, with coding starting on 25 May. Check Google's timeline page for 2027 dates.

What is Kenya's Open-Source Programme Office?

It is a national office announced by the State Department for ICT and Digital Economy in November 2025 to coordinate open source adoption across government, academia and the private sector, developed with the ITU.

Sources

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