DevFest Jinja
2026
Where African innovation meets the Source of the Nile. Join 500+ engineers, designers, and tech leaders for inspiring keynotes, codelabs, and community.
Organized by GDG Jinja & Women Techmakers in partnership with top African tech innovators.
Crafted for Builders of Every Track
Whether you are shipping your first mobile app in Jinja or architecting distributed systems across continents, there is a seat for you.
An Unrivaled Gathering of
African Tech Pioneers
DevFest is Google Developer Group’s signature annual tech festival. We bring together developers, tech leads, and curious minds in the historic city of Jinja for actionable knowledge and authentic community.
World-Class Tech Talks & Visionary Panels
Hear directly from Google Developer Experts (GDEs), Staff Engineers, and African tech leaders discussing real-world breakthroughs in AI architectures, edge computing, cross-platform mobile frameworks, and scalable cloud systems.
Hands-on AI & Cloud Codelabs
Bring your laptop and build live with mentor support. Deploy multimodal Gemini models, architect offline-first Flutter state caches, and configure Google Cloud Run pipelines.
Lakeside Networking & Career Lounge
Connect with tech founders hiring talent across East Africa, find co-founders for your next startup, and meet fellow developers over lunch.
Women Techmakers & Community Showcase
Featuring the annual WTM Jinja panel, the community hackathon showcase, and the local meetup groups whose work fuels tech workshops across the Busoga region all year round.
What a DevFest in Jinja looks like
A packed hall, hands-on sessions and a community that keeps showing up. These are photographs from the 2025 edition.
Photographs from DevFest Jinja 2025, taken by the GDG Jinja community team.
Show you're coming
Drop in a photo, pick a frame from the official DevFest 2026 kit, and download a profile picture for X, LinkedIn or WhatsApp. Your photo is processed here in your browser and never leaves your device.
Frames are the official DevFest 2026 social avatar assets. Nothing is uploaded — the picture is composed on this device and the file saves straight to your downloads.
Inspire the
Community.
We are looking for passionate and experienced speakers to share insights, lead sessions, and drive meaningful conversations that will shape the future of technology in Uganda and across Africa. If you have an insightful topic, the experience, or a vision that aligns with our mission, we want to hear from you.
We’re also spotlighting career development, startups, women in tech, and ecosystem growth through hands-on workshops, bootcamps, hackathons, masterclasses, and community-driven sessions.
CfP Timeline
- August 2026
Submissions Open
The proposal portal is live. Review the tracks and start drafting your outline abstract.
- September 30, 2026
CfP Closes
The final deadline to register speaker proposals. No extensions.
- From October 10, 2026
Speaker Announcement
The GDG Jinja review panel processes drafts and announces the selected sessions.
- Talk (30 min)
- Lightning Talk (15 min)
- Workshop / Codelab (90 min)
- Masterclass / Bootcamp
- Panel Discussion
The Historic Adventure Capital of East Africa
DevFest Jinja 2026 takes place in Jinja City, home of the Source of the River Nile.
Jinja City, Uganda
We are confirming the venue now. Everyone who RSVPs will get the full address by email as soon as it is booked, and we will announce it on X and LinkedIn.
Who makes DevFest Jinja possible
DevFest Jinja 2026 is backed by Google for Developers and run alongside local community groups who share our mission. Sponsorship slots for this edition are open.
Support Uganda's Developer Community
Put your company in front of the engineers, AI builders and founders shaping Eastern Uganda's tech scene. Booth space, speaking slots and recruitment packages are available — tell us what you are looking for and we will put a package together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about attending, speaking, and traveling to DevFest Jinja.
Have a question not covered here? Reach out to the GDG Jinja organizing team at gdgjinja@gmail.com
Claim Your Free DevFest Jinja Pass
Entry is free and seats are limited. RSVP on the official Google Developer Group community platform to reserve yours — it takes under a minute.
- Full-day access to all talks and sessions
- Hands-on codelabs and mentor support
- Lunch, plus snacks and drinks through the day
- Networking lounge with founders and hiring teams
- Certificate of attendance on request
Opens the official GDG Jinja event page in a new tab. Your seat is confirmed there, and the GDG platform emails your ticket.