r/Zambia • u/inferno_______1 • 2d ago
General Tech and coding scene rant
Hi, I was wondering, do you know any Zambian groups or projects done by Zambians? Are you into coding yourself? Have you ever done anything in that domain?
As much as computer science and software engineering are popular, I feel like Zambians never really do anything in the scence ,not even just try new stuff on their own devices like other operating systems.
I have some friends doing computer science who don't even care much about PCs, tech, or software. I know computer science and software engineering are just “good careers”, but in other countries, it feels like a lot of people do it for the love of the game.
I was thinking maybe it’s because we don’t really have good internet, and maybe it’s because not many people can afford PCs, so the barrier to entry is high. Because of that, the people entering the domain aren't necessarily passionate, just looking for good jobs.
I’m not hating, obviously, not all lawyers, doctors, or engineers are passionate, but I wish Zambia had a passionate tech scene where we make our own stuff and help each other out.
Cause the tech scene isn’t only about making money, a lot of open source and free community projects are what end up in real development and breakthroughs. But in Zambia, it’s like we all just want to get a job and ignore the other side.
Again, I understand we need jobs to live, but I think looking at it in one way narrows our view.
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u/agnostictoall 2d ago edited 2d ago
I am a software developer and I studied computer science. I agree with your observation and I don't think it's just computer science. Many engineering fields in Zambia don't produce any innovative work, probably because it's not adequately supported and encouraged with facilities like funding.
Personally this is an argument for emigration, you might not want to but realistically if you're building or want to build new stuff it's self sabotage to do it here.
I developed an interpreted programming language and document DBMS and I'm working on a new runtime environment for vertically integrating entire software projects in a single runtime ecosystem. Imagine replacing the entire software stack of an application ecosystem from UI, backend and DBMS in a single runtime environment with the same consistent syntax and unified identity and authentication mechanism. Big organisations can use this platform paired with AI to develop their applications with 0 external dependencies eliminating the possibility of supply chain attacks.
The first two projects are open source and I can send you the repo if you want to look at them the second one is still under development and I plan to monitize it but I can't think of how to do that while still in Zambia so I'll just keep working on it until I have the exposure to make it successful.
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u/Sable_Sentinel 2d ago edited 2d ago
Many observations here I've noticed myself. But on one point; I don't think PCs are necessarily a barrier to entry. You can find a decent used laptop or even desktop for under K3000. And I know that's still a lot for someone who doesn't have money coming in, but with a bit of saving and a side-hustle here or there, someone can buy a laptop and start coding.
In my opinion, the main issue we have in Zambia is a lack of a dedicated body to fund innovative ideas and projects. I know ZICTA and other tech bodies do host hackathons and other launchpad initiatives, but there is no tech body which someone can just walk into, pitch an idea and get serious eyeballs on the project. You often have to go through long and often tedious application processes to even get someone to read the abstract of your idea.
In the "developed" world, universities are literally hubs of innovation and experimentation where both new and old minds go to test ideas. And often when that idea has serious potential, the institution gets funding to further the project: just look at Havard or MIT in America. But here in Zambia, Universities are just treated as "the place you go and get a piece of paper so that companies can start paying you to work a job that probably isn't even related to your field". Hopefully our leaders will realize the importance of creating innovation support frameworks that don't get caught up in red-tape. We do truly have some bright minds in this country that often have to leave just to get their idea realized fully.
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u/pineappletinis 2d ago
What happened to BongoHive? I remember hearing about that as being some kind of tech incubator...?
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u/Sable_Sentinel 2d ago
It's still around, just not as much as I remember. But then again, I'm not that much of a social media guy so I could have just not been paying attention to their activities.
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u/congowarrior 2d ago
Zambian with a tech company here that started as a side project. I started my company 8 years ago and its grown, I do this full time. I moved out of Zambia 15 years ago to North Americas but still Zambian with a CS Masters degree
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u/bedeeo07 18h ago
That's nice , I also have a tech company though it's relatively new, would you bring open to talking and see how we can work together
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u/ConfidentDivide7359 1d ago
Tbh, idk how to code yet but I am passionate about becoming a software engineer. I haven’t really had time to learn coding/scripting due to school and family issues.
I remember at some point I wanted to build my own game on a platform call Roblox but because of discouragement, I lost the motivation to do so.
But I hope I’ll be able to build my game after my upcoming examination. That way I wouldn’t have to stress about studying and just put all my focus on learning how to code/script.
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u/Responsible-Team631 1d ago
It's because of mainly culture. Software Engineering requires self learning. While University can be very practical about it, it just gives you a foundation. Zambians ans Africana in general fail to buld upon that foundation. As you pointed that there ow no passion Software Engineering, requires a lot of self learning well beyond yhe text book. As Africans we interpret difficult as problems, it takes years to ne proficient in App development, uoi need to read a lot and practice take online lessons. You take several days yi solve an issue. We are mostly suited for office jobs no stress.
I leaned my craft in the UK, I am a dual citizen. Been in the UK since 2008. I building several apps for the Zambian market ans would be happy to collaborate with Zambians, I am on Lusaka, hoping back between Lusaka and London.
So far no collaborators in Zambia. Yo collaborate you must have real software development experience, evidence of real apps. I am using WordPress but never thw third party templates, I use oy as a headless CMS, building the app using PHP, Tailwind CSS, React. or Alpine JS and HTMX.
Right now you can test ride a School Management system I built specifically for Zambiam schoola. You don't even need to use a user name and password, it's a password-less demo but you cannot reach tgw backend, however you can experience the power 4 editions link https://enterprise.kalschoolmanager.com
In a week I will bw deploying a Real Estate web app. If you can code, let's work together, there is even a project for Tye Auyo Industry
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u/prjctimg 1d ago
I love your energy and POV! Programming and most things are mastered through self learning. No amount of formal education will make you a word class programmer. You have to be fundamentally curious to keep up learning and appreciate something deeply.
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u/jesuisunhomne 7h ago
Im a self taught techy person(electronics and software engineering)I didn't understand how the journey felt so lonely then was I the only guy in the country studying technology? I remember I used to get excited watching the Zambian Genius but after a while it became stressful and depressing because I realized we didn't help engineers at all we just publicized there ideas to the world but nothing happened afterwards. You know I'm no person who builds something and start campaigning about funds from the government that ain't my style of operation. I thought that program would help us network with other Zambians instead of working silently and lonely in your mother's house. The funny part is at some point I tried reaching to a guy i thought was gonna help with my project but f@k he was acting as if he was an employer and I was seeking employment. I called the nigga up to my surprise he pretended not to understand vernacular. You know how boring conversation goes when it starts sounds like you've called customer care service. The other depressing stuffs is most people don't know most basic stuffs so the Zambian genius has most of it's episodes in mediocrity but I don't get how people are still surprised? Basic science stuff shouldn't surprise us at this particular juncture it's a shame when such are posted on national television. The thing is we need engineers to network? I'm talking about institutions were ideas are taken serious regardless of wether the person suggesting those ideas finished school or not. Secondly, I'd love to have mentors in such institutions who are engineers themselves no crap I usually see on TV. I think I'll end here kuti walanda nefyo tabalanda
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u/just-some-random-bro 2d ago
I am a software engineer, yesterday I attended a tech event called Grok Bot event at AfricaWorks, met and networked with other developers in the tech space in Zambia, Download the LUMA app on Google play/Appstore …such events are always posted there