Dada Devs African Women Bitcoin Developers Secure Multiple Awards at bitcoin++ Nairobi 2026 Hackathon
In a powerful demonstration of growing African excellence in Bitcoin development, teams featuring members of Dada Devs walked away with multiple awards and top placements at the bitcoin++ Nairobi 2026 hackathon.
The results mark a standout performance by the delegation of African women Bitcoin builders sent by Dada Devs earlier this month to the first African edition of the premier technical Bitcoin developer conference.
Strong Showing Among 37 Competing Projects
Out of 37 projects in the hackathon, four initiatives with significant Dada Devs participation earned recognition and awards. The teams tackled critical areas including privacy tools, open-source contributions to Bitcoin Core, mobile Bitcoin access, and funding innovation.
Here are the highlighted projects and their achievements:
- PoWR — Finished as a Top 6 Finalist, standing among the strongest projects overall.
Team members: - Core-Gate — Won the Btrust Open Source Contribution Spam Award for improving pathways into Bitcoin Core contributions.
Team members: Aishagojo and Gathoni Zarah. - LNPesa — Won Best Tool for Mobile Brokers/Agents Using Bitcoin (sponsored by Minmo). The project brings Bitcoin-powered cash exchange capabilities to feature phones.
Team members: Kendy Dorcas and Kelly Gakii. - SiriScore — Recognized for its innovative approach to Bitcoin privacy tooling.
Team members:
Additional Dada Devs contributors made their mark with:
- BitFund (represented by Esther Maina and Irene Nditi) — Explored new models for Bitcoin-powered innovation funding.
- Pontswap (represented by Pree) — Developed infrastructure for coordinating Bitcoin-to-fiat swaps.
African Women Are Building
In an official statement posted on X, Dada Devs celebrated the results:
“We’re incredibly proud to see Dada Devs builders making their mark at Bitcoin++ Nairobi, contributing to projects tackling some of Bitcoin’s most important challenges—from privacy and open-source development to financial access, developer reputation, and funding innovation.
Across the hackathon, Dadas helped build projects that didn’t just participate—they stood out.
The numbers speak for themselves: 4 projects with Dada Devs contributors walked away with awards and recognitions.
This is what happens when women are given the opportunity, skills, and support to build. They don’t just join the ecosystem—they help push it forward.”
The organization emphasized that the success reflects the impact of targeted training, mentorship, and real-world open-source contribution opportunities provided through its programs.
Building on a Strong Delegation
This achievement follows Dada Devs’ announcement earlier this month of a high-profile delegation to bitcoin++ Nairobi 2026 (June 17–19). The group included peer leads, open-source contributors, software developers, and community builders, many of whom served as speakers and panelists.
Notable participants from the delegation who contributed to the winning and recognized projects include Salma Adam, Sharon Nkatha, Nelly Nakhero, and others aligned with Dada Devs’ mission.
Dada Devs is the technical arm of the Bitcoin Dada ecosystem. It focuses on bridging the gender gap in Bitcoin development by training African women engineers to run nodes, build on the Lightning Network, contribute to Bitcoin Core and related repositories, and collaborate with global protocol teams.
Why This Matters for Bitcoin and Africa?
The results at bitcoin++ Nairobi 2026 highlight several key trends:
- Growing technical capacity among African women in open-source Bitcoin work.
- Africa’s increasing role in shaping global Bitcoin protocol development and innovation.
- The effectiveness of focused, women-led initiatives in delivering tangible contributions to the ecosystem.
Dada Devs continues to expand its impact through specialized programs and the upcoming Dada Hub — Africa’s first physical Bitcoin developer space in Kenya.
Looking Ahead
Congratulations poured in from the Bitcoin community following the announcement, with many highlighting the broader message: when women are empowered with skills and support, they don’t just participate — they lead and innovate.
Dada Devs closed its statement with a clear message: “Congratulations to every Dada who showed up, built, collaborated, and proved once again that African women belong at the forefront of Bitcoin innovation.”