Why We Exist
Across Africa, developers build powerful solutions, maintainers sustain critical tools, advocates organize communities, and educators train the next generation. World-class work, happening every day. But without visibility, it can't influence policy, attract support, or inspire others.
Meanwhile, African governments and institutions often default to expensive proprietary systems — not because open alternatives don't exist, and not because the talent doesn't exist, but because nobody knows they do.
When the African Union discusses digital infrastructure policy, who represents the open source community? When governments procure software, do they know African alternatives exist? When international standards bodies make decisions, where is Africa's voice?
ODSI exists to answer those questions — by building the visibility infrastructure that connects African open source talent and projects to the policy conversations that shape our digital future. We document what exists, recognize who's building it, advocate for what's possible, and build the networks that turn isolated efforts into a continental movement.
What We Do
Build the Directory
A comprehensive, policy-connected catalog of African open source — the projects being built and the people building them. Every verified entry is evidence that Africa builds world-class open technology and has the talent to match.
Advocate for Policy
We represent African open source interests where decisions are made — with governments, the African Union, regional bodies, and international forums. The directory isn't just a catalog; it's the evidence we bring to the table.
Connect the Ecosystem
We build relationships across the open source ecosystem — connecting developers with maintainers, advocates with policymakers, educators with institutions — so the people doing the work are in the same room as the people making the decisions.
GitHub shows code.
LinkedIn shows people.
ODSI connects both to policy.
We're not just a catalog — we're advocacy infrastructure that turns projects and profiles into evidence for digital sovereignty.
Sovereignty Through Openness
Digital sovereignty means different things in different contexts. Some interpret it as digital protectionism — building walls to keep foreign technology out.
We believe in sovereignty through openness. True independence comes not from isolation, but from building and controlling open infrastructure that no single vendor can lock down or shut off. Open source gives Africa the power to inspect, modify, and govern the technology running our critical systems.
When African institutions adopt open source, they're not just saving licensing fees — they're choosing technological self-determination. Ensuring a foreign company's business decisions can't suddenly compromise national infrastructure. And investing in local talent and capacity that stays on the continent.
"You cannot love me the way you want to love me — you have to love me the way I want to be loved."
— Olawale Fabiyi, Founder of ODSI, at Open Source Congress 2025, Brussels
This is the problem with how open source policy has treated Africa: designed for us, without us. Good intentions, wrong approach.
We work on both fronts — representing African interests in global forums, while helping African governments build open source strategies with their own developer communities in the room. Policy built with the people it affects, not for them.
What Success Looks Like
Not abstract goals — concrete outcomes we're working toward.
An African Union policy cites our directory as evidence of continental open source capacity — and allocates procurement budget accordingly.
A developer in Kigali connects with an advocate in Lagos through our directory, creating opportunities neither could have found alone.
An institution discovers and hires African open source talent through our directory — talent they didn't know existed.
Every project documented, every person recognized, moves us closer to these outcomes. The directory is how it starts — but it's not where it ends.
Get Involved
The directory grows stronger with every addition. Here's how different people can contribute:
Developers & Maintainers
Submit your projects and add your profile. Your work deserves to be seen — and documented as part of Africa's open source record.
Contributors & Advocates
Add your profile to the directory. Every advocate and community organizer recognized adds depth to the picture of African open source.
Policymakers & Governments
Use the directory as your starting point for open source procurement and digital strategy. Contact us to discuss how we can support your policy development process.
Institutions & Partners
Partner with us to advance open source adoption across the continent. Whether you're a foundation, university, or NGO — reach out to explore how we can work together.
