2026 has been a year of proof of work for Africa Free Routing. 🚨

Over the past eight months, developers across Africa have been learning, building and shipping with Bitcoin through our Lightning Developer Bootcamps.

8 bootcamp locations. 10+ cities reached. 200+ developers trained.

From Cape Town and Johannesburg to Kampala, Ouagadougou, Bujumbura, Kisumu and Addis Ababa, developers have run nodes, written code, built Lightning applications, contributed to open source and presented working projects.

The impact has gone beyond the numbers.

🇿🇦 BitDevs Cape Town was established after the Cape Town bootcamp.

🇿🇦 Johannesburg marked our 10th bootcamp milestone, with developers travelling across borders from Mozambique using Bitcoin.

🇺🇬 Kampala saw the launch of the first Bitcoin Club at Makerere University, while a solo female developer placed 2nd in the hackathon.

🇧🇫 Developers in Ouagadougou built and presented Lightning projects.

🇧🇮 Bujumbura reached full capacity, with participants building working Lightning projects.

🇰🇪 Kisumu became our largest bootcamp yet, with ~99 participants, 16 teams and 1 solo builder presenting 17 projects after an overnight build.

🇪🇹 Addis Ababa brought further cross-border participation, including developers from Kisumu.

And the work continues.

Alongside the bootcamps, we launched the Bitcoin Payment Integration Masterclass, helping businesses learn how to integrate Lightning payments into their existing products and platforms.

Some graduates have gone on to contribute to established Bitcoin organisations. Others are building products of their own.

This week, Africa Free Routing is in Kigali, Rwanda, training the next generation of African Lightning developers. 🇷🇼⚡

The work continues. The builders keep building.

Proof of work. Across Africa.

Venue locked for Kigali🥳 🔥

We’re excited to announce the venue for our beautiful 5-day Lightning Developer Bootcamp in Kigali ⚡

📍 ALX Rwanda, Deco Center, KG 9 Ave

Whether you’re just getting started with Bitcoin or already building, this bootcamp is designed to take you deeper into Lightning, the network that makes Bitcoin payments fast and practical.

Expect Bitcoin fundamentals, hands-on coding workshops, and real-world applications you can ship. You’ll also meet fellow builders from across Africa, plus networking, raffles, and giveaways.

Spots are limited.
Apply now: https://bit.ly/4fqcpZR

Happy New Month Family 🎉

New month. New momentum. New builders loading.

If you’re in Uganda and have waiting for the right moment to level up your Bitcoin & Lightning skills… this is it.

The Uganda Lightning Developer Bootcamp is where you want to be this month.

Five days. Hands-on. Real Lightning. Real collaboration

🎓 Limited scholarships available.

Apply here:
https://freerouting.africa/kampala-lightning-developer-bootcamp/

Registration for our Uganda bootcamp is still on going, join us to:

- understand how Lightning really works
- interact with bitcoin and lightning nodes
- build real applications
- collaborate with other builders

This is hands-on.
This is practical.
This is for builders.

Apply now: https://freerouting.africa/kampala-lightning-developer-bootcamp/

Africa doesn’t need more hype coins.
Africa needs payment rails that actually work. Every single day.

The Lightning Network is that rail.
Instant. Borderless. Built for real economic activity.

Happy new week!

Registration for the Kampala Lightning Developer Bootcamp is ongoing, and spots are limited. Don’t miss your chance to be part of Africa’s growing Lightning developer ecosystem.

Apply now: https://freerouting.africa/kampala-lightning-developer-bootcamp/

Kampala, we are coming 🔥

We’re excited to announce that the Lightning Developer Bootcamp is coming to Uganda.

As always, it will be five full days of building, learning, collaborating, and pushing the Bitcoin Lightning infrastructure forward together.

📍 UniPod, CTF2, Makerere University, Kampala
📅 23rd to 27th March 2026
⏰ 9:00 to 17:00 EAT daily

Limited scholarships are available, so apply early here:
https://freerouting.africa/kampala-lightning-developer-bootcamp/

A new year always starts with big intentions.

- Learn more.
- Build more.
- Take your skills seriously.

⚡ The Cape Town Lightning Developer Bootcamp registration is still ongoing.

You don’t need to be perfect.
You just need to start.

🔗 bit.ly/capetown-bootcamp

It’s Christmas Eve🎄

As the year comes to an end, one of the most meaningful gifts we can give is opportunity.

In the next two months, Africa Free Routing is hosting two hands-on Lightning Developer Bootcamps in South Africa:

• 🇿🇦 Cape Town — January 19th to 23rd, 2026: bit.ly/capetown-bootcamp
• 🇿🇦 Johannesburg — February 9th to 13th, 2026: freerouting.africa/johannesburg-lightning-developer-bootcamp

These bootcamps are designed to equip African developers with real Bitcoin & Lightning skills, hands-on experience, and a strong builder community.

If you know a developer, student, or tech enthusiast in your network, share this with them.
Sometimes, changing a career or a community starts with a single link.

Let’s keep building Africa’s Lightning future together ⚡

Johannesburg, are you ready 🇿🇦⚡️

After the Cape Town Lightning Developer Bootcamp, we’re taking things further. In partnership with @Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town, we’re hosting a 5 day Lightning Developer Bootcamp in Johannesburg this February.
5 days of hands on learning, real Lightning infrastructure, and building with other serious builders in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Dates: 9th to 13th February 2026

Secure your spot:
https://freerouting.africa/johannesburg-lightning-developer-bootcamp

Do you really know what is the Lightning Network?

It’s a second layer on Bitcoin that makes transactions instant and almost free.

Why it matters:
- Microtransactions (think streaming, tipping)
- Everyday BTC payments
- Scales Bitcoin globally 🌍

Cape Town, get ready!! :flag_za:

In partnership with @Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town , we are bringing a five day Lightning Developer Bootcamp back to the Mother City the week before the conference.

Date: 19th to 23rd January, 2026
Venue: Workshop 17, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Time: 9am daily

Come learn, build, and connect with top Bitcoin minds shaping the future of Lightning in Africa. Seats are limited.

Apply for a scholarship now: http://bit.ly/capetown-bootcamp