Hack4Freedom and Dada Devs Are Bringing a Bitcoin and Freedom Tech Bootcamp to Nairobi for Women Developers
Women developers in Kenya have a new opportunity to build with Bitcoin. @hack4_freedom in partnership with Dada Devs has announced a joint Bitcoin and Freedom Technology Bootcamp in Nairobi, running from September 22 to October 5, 2026. Furthermore, the program comes with $4,000 or more in awards for top projects.
The two-week hybrid bootcamp is specifically for women developers in Kenya. It covers Bitcoin, Lightning, Nostr, and eCash through technical workshops, hands-on building, mentorship, open-source collaboration, and a closing hackathon where participants demo real projects they built themselves.
What Hack4Freedom is
Hack4Freedom is a women-focused, open-source freedom technology program created by Brianna Honkawa d’Estries through her organisation Evento. It started in Kaduna, Nigeria, where 20 women built eight open-source prototypes over two weeks. The Human Rights Foundation has backed the program through its Bitcoin Development Fund, specifically to cover event and travel costs and open up new opportunities for women developers across Africa and Latin America.
The program has since run in Lagos, where 38 women produced 13 repo-backed open-source projects. Nairobi is next. Moreover, each city edition builds on the last, creating a growing network of women contributors who stay connected, mentor each other, and keep building after the program ends.
Globally, women make up roughly 3% of open-source contributors. In African tech, they represent less than 8% of developers. Hack4Freedom exists specifically to close that gap, one cohort at a time.
What Dada Devs brings
Dada Devs is a Bitcoin developer community focused on building for Africa. The partnership with Hack4Freedom brings local network, community roots, and on-the-ground organisation to the Nairobi edition. Together, the two organisations combine Hack4Freedom’s proven curriculum with Dada Devs’ deep connections in Kenya’s Bitcoin developer community.
Notably, the collaboration is not new. Dada Devs has previously played a role in bridging learning and contribution for African women developers alongside organisations including Btrust Builders and Africa Free Routing. Therefore, the Nairobi bootcamp brings together two organisations with a shared track record of turning women developers into open-source contributors.
What participants will build with
The two-week program covers four freedom technology stacks:
- Bitcoin — the foundation of sound, open money
- Lightning — instant, low-cost, censorship-resistant payments
- Nostr — decentralised, permissionless communication
- eCash — privacy-preserving digital cash built on Bitcoin
Together, these tools represent the full stack of financial freedom and private communication infrastructure. In other words, participants will not just learn about Bitcoin. They will build real tools across the entire freedom technology ecosystem.
Furthermore, all projects are developed in public GitHub repositories. Therefore, every participant leaves with open-source contributions already on their profile, a working prototype, and a peer community that extends beyond the two weeks.
Why this matters for Kenya
Kenya already has one of Africa’s most active Bitcoin ecosystems. Specifically, circular economies are running in Kibera, Tando has made 40 million M-Pesa phone numbers Lightning-addressable, and BitDevs Nairobi runs regular technical sessions across the city.
However, women remain underrepresented at every layer of that ecosystem. The Hack4Freedom and Dada Devs bootcamp directly addresses that gap. Specifically, it creates a dedicated space where women developers can gain technical skills, build real projects, connect with mentors from the global open-source community, and take their first steps toward sustained contribution.
Moreover, the $4,000 in awards gives top projects real recognition and resources to keep going after Demo Day ends.
Register now
The bootcamp runs September 22 to October 5, 2026 in Nairobi. It is open to women developers in Kenya with basic development skills or strong motivation to learn. Prior Bitcoin experience is not required.
Register here: app.evento.so/e/evt_thLRxQBL9AarUmp3
Build. Ship. Contribute. ⚡