African Google Developer Groups (GDGs) are hungry for innovation

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African Google Developer Groups (GDGs) are hungry for innovation

May 20, 2013 » WebNo Comment

Google Developer Groups (GDGs), formerly known as Google Technology User Groups (GTUGs), serve to support developers who are interested in Google technology. Most members are coders, but others with a desire to explore Android, App Engine, Chrome, Maps API, or YouTube API are welcome too. No single group is alike; some are less formal and simply involve discussing Google’s product suite, others hold tech talks and hackathons. GDGs are open to the public and thrive on passion. Again, the goal is to learn about Google technologies for developers – not for Google to sell their products and not a place for developers to focus on consumer content.

Creating a chapter is simple: submit a short application and subsequently have a Google+ page, a mailing list, and a complete description. In order to stay active, a GDG must hold an in-person event at least every 3 months.

African developers are keen on GDGs. Somewhere around 67 chapters are active across 24 countries. Approximately one-in-six GDGs is located in Africa. Many are run at universities.

Just this past week, many African GDGs held ‘extended’ events as part Google I/O 2013. GDG Lomé co-organized Google IO Extended & TIC Days 2013 to promote innovation within Togo. GDG Lusaka organized an event/hackathon at BongoHive. In Uganda, GDG Makerere sponsored an event at Oubox. Within the past month, more than a dozen African GDGs held BarCamps. These events were smaller in scope than traditional BarCamps and usually served as the final of the Africa Android Challenge. (More on these later.)