Dada Devs Cohort 5 Launches: African Women Begin 8-Week Journey into Bitcoin Development
Dada Devs, Africa’s leading initiative for female Bitcoin developers, has officially kicked off Cohort 5 of its flagship technical program.
Over the next eight weeks, a new group of experienced African software engineers will dive deep into Bitcoin protocol development, open-source contribution, and practical skills using the widely respected Mastering Bitcoin (3rd Edition) by Andreas M. Antonopoulos.
The announcement shared on X by DadaDevs, highlights a strong team of facilitators who will guide participants through hands-on learning, code reviews, pull requests, and real contributions to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
What Is Dada Devs Cohort 5?
Dada Devs is the technical arm of Bitcoin Dada, founded to address the underrepresentation of African women in Bitcoin open-source development. DadaDevs targets experienced developers who want to move beyond theory into active contribution.
Cohort 5 follows the Mastering Bitcoin track, an 8-week foundational program that equips participants with:
- Deep understanding of the Bitcoin protocol.
- Transaction mechanics, scripting, consensus, and privacy.
- Running full nodes.
- GitHub workflows and open-source collaboration.
- Pathways to contribute to real Bitcoin repositories.
The program is completely free and fully sponsored. Participants only need a laptop capable of running a Bitcoin node and a commitment of roughly 4–6 hours per week.
Meet the Cohort 5 Facilitators
A standout feature of Cohort 5 is its diverse and experienced facilitation team. Here are the engineers leading the journey:
- Wandia Mugo — Head of Operations at Dada Devs and founder of Bitcoin Plain Talk.
- Mercy Mbao — Senior Developer at Dada Devs and active Bitcoin open-source contributor.
- Susan Githaiga — Peer Lead for Cohort 5, software developer, and Bitcoin open-source contributor
- Nkatha — Peer Lead for Cohort 5, software developer, and Bitcoin open-source contributor.
- Sadiq — Associated with BitDevs Mauritius and OsguildHQ.
- Megasley — Bitcoin Developer and General Manager at
These facilitators bring years of hands-on experience in Bitcoin development, open-source maintenance, and ecosystem building.
Why This Matters For Africa?
Africa has talented software engineers, yet very few women are actively contributing to the open-source code that powers Bitcoin. Dada Devs exists to close that gap by creating supportive, women-focused pathways into protocol-level development and real contributions.
Previous cohorts have already produced graduates who contribute to Bitcoin Core-related projects, build Lightning applications, and participate in international hackathons. Many alumni have gone on to work with global Bitcoin organizations or launch their own Africa-focused solutions.
By training developers who understand local realities, Dada Devs is helping ensure Bitcoin solutions are built with and for African communities and even across the globe.
Follow the Journey
Dada Devs continues to grow rapidly. The organization recently opened Africa’s first physical Bitcoin developer hub in Kenya and maintains a strong presence across multiple countries.
You can follow their progress on:
- Website: dadadevs.com
- X/Twitter: @DadaDevs
- Bitcoin Dada parent platform: btcdada.com