by @Michael Kimathi Every few months someone asks me a version of the same question: "Is the African developer story real, or is it conference-stage optimism?" I lead a community of more than 300,000 developers across this continent, and I see the growth at every meetup, hackathon, and summit we host. But you do not have to take my word for it. The numbers are public, and they are worth reading closely. The Headline: Fastest Growth on Earth Start with the continental picture. In 2021, Google's Africa Developer Ecosystem report counted roughly 716,000 professional developers across the continent ( Google, 2021 ). In 2026, BCG's "Develop the Developers" report, which uses GitHub-based data and a broader definition that includes students and self-taught builders, put Africa at about 4.7 million developers, growing at an average of 21% per year between 2019 and 2024 ( Boston Consulting Group, 2026 ). Hold onto that 21%. It is the highest growth rate of any region in the world, ahead of Latin America (19.8%), Asia (16.6%), Europe (11.3%), North America (9.2%), and Oceania (2.2%). Yes, Africa's absolute base is still small next to Asia's 73.9 million or Europe's 27.5 million. But at 21% a year, a small base does not stay small for long. GitHub's own Octoverse reports confirm the direction. The 2025 edition, covering a year in which more than 36 million new developers joined the platform globally, singled out Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco as countries projected to add millions of developers in the coming years, and noted that one in three new developers now comes from a country that was not in the global top ten in 2020 ( GitHub, 2025 ). Software talent is spreading beyond its old capitals, and Africa is one of the places it is moving to. Country by Country Nigeria is the continental engine. In 2021, Google counted 89,000 professional developers there ( Google, 2021 ). By GitHub's 2023 Octoverse, Nigeria posted 45% year-over-year developer growth, the largest increase worldwide that year ( GitHub, 2023 ). By late 2024, more than 1.1 million developers were building on GitHub in Nigeria ( GitHub, 2024b ), and reporting on GitHub's Q4 2025 data put the figure above 1.6 million, the largest developer community in Africa. Lagos is no longer an emerging hub; it is a continental capital of software. South Africa holds the deepest professional base, with 121,000 professional developers in 2021, the continent's largest ( Google, 2021 ), and over 660,000 developers on GitHub by 2024, up 23% year over year. It also leads in advanced work: contributions to generative AI projects from South Africa grew more than 44% in a single year ( GitHub, 2024b ). Kenya is the pace-setter. From roughly 55,000 professional developers in 2021 ( Google, 2021 ) to more than 393,000 GitHub developers by 2024, a 33% annual jump and among the fastest anywhere ( GitHub, 2024b ). Kenya put programming into public school curricula, and you can feel Nairobi's density of fintech companies and developer schools at every meetup, workshop and hackthon we host. Egypt combines scale with intensity: 89,000 professional developers in 2021 ( Google, 2021 ), one of the continent's highest developer-per-capita ratios alongside Morocco , and a concentration of Africa's AI, machine learning, and data science specialists in North Africa ( Boston Consulting Group, 2026 ). GitHub projects both countries among the fastest-adding developer populations globally. The rising tier matters just as much: Ghana and Tunisia (about 30,000 professional developers each in 2021), Tanzania (about 25,000), and Uganda (about 20,000) ( Google, 2021 ), with Rwanda , Senegal , Ethiopia , and Cote d'Ivoire building deliberate national pipelines. These are the markets where a single university program or a single anchor employer still visibly moves the national number, which means they are also the markets where ecosystem investment has the highest marginal return. The Next Three to Ten Years Let me be honest about projections: these are extrapolations, not prophecy. If the continent merely sustains something near its growth rate from 2019 to 2024, Africa's 4.7 million developers become roughly 9 to 10 million by around 2028 or 2029, and could plausibly pass 20 to 25 million in the early-to-mid 2030s. Even under a conservative scenario in which growth cools to Asia's rate of about 16%, Africa roughly doubles every five years. Three things make me believe the high end. First, demographics: 80% of Africa's professional developers are under 35, and the continent will add hundreds of millions of working-age people by 2050, the youngest population on Earth learning to code on the cheapest devices ever made. Second, precedent: GitHub expects India to become its largest developer population by 2028, overtaking the United States ( GitHub, 2024a ), proof that developer numbers follow population and ambition, not legacy infrastructure. Africa is the next chapter of that same story. Third, AI: free and low-cost AI coding tools are collapsing the cost of becoming productive, which benefits late-starting ecosystems most. One caveat I refuse to bury: women still make up only about 15% of Africa's developer workforce ( Google, 2021 ). If we close even half of that gap, every projection above is an underestimate. This is why our Women in Technology track runs a full parallel calendar, not a side event. What The Talent Curve Means For Money Google and the IFC projected Africa's internet economy at $180 billion by 2025 and $712 billion by 2050. Their research also found that a 10% increase in mobile internet penetration lifts African GDP per capita by about 2.5%, a stronger multiplier than the global average ( Google and International Finance Corporation, 2020 ). Software is not a sector here; it is a development strategy. The capital side is recovering as well: after two years of the global funding winter, 178 African startups raised $1.64 billion in 2025, up 46.2% on 2024 ( Disrupt Africa, 2026 ). But there is a catch in the current model. Google found that 38% of African developers already work for at least one company outside the continent, and salaries grew 11% in 2021 alone ( Google, 2021 ). Remote work raised incomes, which I celebrate. The risk is that Africa becomes a talent exporter the way it was once a raw-materials exporter: shipping the input, importing the finished product, and capturing the smallest slice of the value. The answer is ownership infrastructure: platforms where African developers do not just work in the global software economy but sell into it and into their own markets. That is also the continent's stated policy: the African Union's Digital Transformation Strategy sets a Digital Single Market target for 2030 and frames the goal as Africa becoming a producer, not only a consumer, in the global digital economy ( African Union, 2020 ). This is precisely why we built the Africa's Talking Marketplace, a place where a developer in any of these countries can package a solution once and monetize it across the continent, on the channels ( SMS , USSD , and Voice ) that actually reach African customers. The 4.7 million developers are the supply. The $180-billion-and-growing internet economy is the demand. Marketplaces are the rail between them. The Bottom Line Fastest growth rate in the world. Four countries projected to add millions of developers each. A youth bulge that guarantees the pipeline for decades. An internet economy compounding toward $712 billion. If you are waiting for more evidence before taking African developer talent seriously, you will simply pay more for the same talent later. The builders are here. The next decade decides who owns what they build. Are you a developer ready to productize your solution, or a business looking to scale workflows faster? Check out our marketplace here: https://bit.ly/4A8Gg2i

Understanding how users navigate your USSD applications just got easier. We've launched a new feature allowing developers to track the user journey through the various hops, or steps, a user passes through during a USSD session. This update provides greater visibility into session paths and user behavior directly from your application. How to Implement Journey Tracking Tracking is handled via a straightforward header implementation. You can set an optional custom header named at-ussd-hop-metadata to track the user journey. This custom header is to be returned as a response header for all USSD requests to your application. The value you assign should be text that identifies the specific hop the user is currently on, for example, WelcomeMenuPage . Once set, it will be included in the next request sent to your application under the same header name. Dashboard Visibility and Callbacks The metadata you pass is fully integrated into your monitoring environment. The header value will be displayed on your client dashboard as part of the session details. Where an events notification callback is set on your client dashboard, the metadata associated with each hop will be sent as part of the request payload. This callback data will be located under the specific field hopsMetadata . The hopsMetadata field is formatted as multiple substrings delimited by the pipe character ( ‘ | ’ ), each representing the respective hop metadata. Constraints and Security Warnings To ensure the tracking feature processes data correctly and securely, you must adhere to the following rules regarding the header value: Therefore, take note not to share sensitive details in this header since it is displayed on the dashboard. This value should neither exceed 99 characters. The value must not include the pipe character ( ‘ | ’ ). If the value exceeds the character limit or includes the pipe character, it will be ignored . You can dive into the updated docs to begin integrating hop metadata into your USSD workflows today.

I am interested in attending the AT Open Hackathon in Kano. I would like to know more about the event, registration, and how I can participate.

As developers and innovators using Africa’s Talking APIs, sharing diverse experiences and insights can lead to new, creative applications. How have you uniquely leveraged these APIs in your projects, and what challenges did you face during implementation? We’re eager to learn about your stories, including any unconventional uses, strategies for overcoming hurdles, or lessons learned that might inspire fellow developers in our community. Let’s dive into this discussion!

An API platform creates building blocks. A marketplace creates a route to adoption. Across African tech ecosystems, we frequently encounter a paradox. A business knows exactly what it needs, be it an automated loyalty campaign, a two-way SMS delivery confirmation, or an interactive IVR survey. On the other side, brilliant local developers have the technical ingenuity to build the exact software required. Yet, the distance between identifying a need and deploying a scalable, budget-friendly solution remains frustratingly vast. Historically, developers built beautiful, bespoke solutions for individual clients. But once the project ended, that intellectual property sat isolated. When a new client with an identical need arrived, the integration process started completely from scratch. The Africa's Talking Marketplace is our answer to breaking this cycle. It is a strategic shift from simply listing applications to making solutions immediately deployable. The Paradigm Shift: Marketplace 2.0 A simple definition: A directory helps a customer discover a solution. A deployable marketplace helps the customer run it. Many organizations don't want to assemble every single API workflow themselves—they want to solve immediate operational friction. By building a trusted ecosystem where solutions are hosted, metered, governed, and billed directly through Africa's Talking, we are creating a reliable value chain for both creators and consumers. For Builders: Turning Ingenuity into a Repeatable Business For a tech startup or independent developer, finding your first customer can be as grueling as writing the software itself. The Marketplace fundamentally rewrites the economics of regional software development. Instead of treating a successful communications workflow as a one-off project, developers can now package it into an asset. Because Africas Talking handles the underlying operational infrastructure (including containerized hosting, billing, and usage visibility) builders are freed from rebuilding operational plumbing. You focus entirely on product quality, sector fit, and customer outcomes. For Customers: Trading Custom-Build Friction for Operational Speed For any expanding enterprise or agile NGO, the true cost of technology isn’t just the software license fee. It includes procurement delays, vague scopes of work, prolonged testing cycles, and the looming risk that a custom build might fail. The Marketplace enables businesses to start with the workflow, not the wiring. Whether its a logistics company requiring instant last-mile notifications or a financial institution rolling out verification alerts, businesses can now discover, subscribe to, and operate targeted tools without commissioning a ground-up integration. Crucially, these are tools built for practical African contexts—factoring in mobile-first users, feature-phone accessibility, and multi-channel escalation. From Application Pipeline to Economic Pipeline The true value of this infrastructure is its compounding economic effect. When a developer transforms a recurring problem into a reusable solution, they establish a runway for commercial validation. As businesses adopt these tools, they serve their own end-users better, generating usage data and income that allows the builder to iteratively improve the product. High-quality products attract more demand, which in turn incentivizes more builders to innovate. This shifts the developer community from an audience for APIs into an active ecosystem of vendors, product companies, and critical implementation partners. The Standard We Must Earn We recognize that asking a business to trust external code with their critical workflows requires immense discipline. The difference between a simple application catalogue and a true platform isn't just deployment - it is trust. Our commitment is to enforce rigorous guardrails around security, functional compliance, data privacy, and transparent pricing to ensure that this marketplace is a dependable technical and commercial bridge. Build once. Deploy on AT. Sell across Africa. Lets convert developer ingenuity into deployable products, and ecosystem participation into stronger African businesses.

Hello 👋 I'm full stack web developer I'm interested for hackerthon. Can we share idea with someone

Hello everyone, Is there another community where information is shared? Like a whatsapp group I have some questions about the event on June 3rd

VCONIC TADHack: The Open Source MCP Server Sharing the first session recorded last week for VCONIC TADHack, which explains the open-source MCP server. Event Overview: VCONIC Challenge New this year is the VCON MCP server challenge. Check out the details at conserver.io  or mcp.conserver.io . Dates:  March 7-8 (Saturday / Sunday) Prize Pot:  $5,000 Location: Virtual Event Registration: Send an email to info@tadhack.com with your name and email. Submission Process:  Details and timing are explained in the original article.   Upcoming Training Sessions We have planned a series of live and recorded training sessions leading up to the hackathon. ( Note: If you’ve already registered for TADHack, you will receive calendar invites to these sessions ). The VCON MCP Server   Thomas McCarty-Howe | Fri, Jan 30 & Fri, Mar 6 @ Noon  AI Coding for Beginners  Rob Pickering | Tue, Feb 10 @ Noon | Consent and Lifecycle  Thomas McCarty-Howe | Fri, Feb 13 @ Noon | Spec-Driven Development Jason Goecke | Tue, Feb 17 @ Noon | VCON + UNS (Manufacturing) | Matthew Smith | Tue, Feb 24 @ Noon | The VCON App Store Audrey Hayn | Fri, Feb 27 @ Noon | Understanding the Technology The Problem: Conversations Happen Everywhere Most businesses have conversations scattered across phone calls, video meetings, chat messages, and emails. Because each system stores data in its own format, it is incredibly difficult to search, analyze patterns, share data between tools, work with AI assistants, and maintain compliance standards. Getting a complete picture takes entirely too much time and effort. The Solution: The VCON MCP Server MCP stands for Model Context Protocol . It allows AI assistants (like Claude) to securely access your live data and external tools, rather than relying solely on their training data. Think of MCP as giving an AI assistant access to your toolbox. By connecting the vCon MCP Server to an AI assistant, it can: Read data from your databases. Perform actions using your tools. Access real-time information. Maintain context about your active tasks. What Can The VCON MCP Server Do? Store conversations:  Saves conversations in vCon format, matching the IETF standard perfectly. Search conversations:  Offers basic filtering, keyword search, semantic search (by meaning), and hybrid search. Organize with tags: Add label-like tags to conversations for fast organization and filtering. Analyze and monitor:  Provides analytics showing growth trends, content patterns, and database health metrics. Manage components:  Update parts of a conversation (like adding analysis results or attaching files) without recreating the whole record. Use templates:  Speeds up the creation of new records for common conversation types. Extend with plugins:  Add custom functionality like privacy controls or compliance features. Stretch Objective: SIP Extension for MCP How do you discover a new MCP? This Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) extension advertises support for, negotiates, and carries the Model Context Protocol. It defines a new SIP option-tag (`mcp`), new header fields, capability parameters, and the application/mcp+json media type. [Read the draft here]( https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-howe-sipcore-mcp-extension/ ). Deep Dive: Session Details & Resources The VCON MCP Server Speaker: Thomas McCarty-Howe GitHub Repository IETF vCon Working Group Conserver MCP AI Coding for Beginners Speaker:  Rob Pickering (Coding CEO) A pragmatic approach covering which solutions and tools work reliably, areas that lack maturity, and the future direction of AI-assisted development. Highly relevant for students. Links to follow shortly. (See Rob's previous TADSummit session ) Consent and Lifecycle Speaker:  Thomas McCarty-Howe, CTO VCONIC Consent has evolved from simple TCPA compliance into dynamic, term-limited "consent for purpose" (e.g., AI training, data mining), aligning better with GDPR and modern privacy laws. The new consent extension paired with media provides cryptographic proof, granular permissions, and temporal validity. VCON-Dev GitHub Conserver.io Spec-Driven Development (SDD) Speaker:  Jason Goecke (Coding CEO) AI without specifications results in fast, expensive chaos. SDD uses executable specifications as the single source of truth defining what to build, why , and how  to prove it. Specifications MUST be measurable (performance), testable (security), verifiable (reliability), and auditable (compliance). SDD Platform Anthropic Skills The VCON App Store Speaker:  Audrey Hayn, Co-founder MindMaking MindMaking is building a vCon App Store tailored for SMBs. They provide a marketplace, integrated billing, developer ecosystem, and vCon-compliant infrastructure distributed through ITSPs and Managed Service Providers. Email apply@mindmaking.com to get involved and monetize your hackathon skills. VCON + UNS for Manufacturing / Process Industries Speaker:  Matthew Smith (Note: Date previously shifted due to travel). Unified Name Space (UNS), MQTT, and VCON are critical for modern manufacturing. vCon ensures factory floor conversations are captured, making the chain of human decisions on the production line transparent and integrated with Operations Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT).

Reference: Help Center (home): https://help.africastalking.com/en/   General FAQs (collection): https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150820-general-faqs   Quick Guide to Africa’s Talking: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150795-quick-guide-to-africa-s-talking   Developer Docs: https://developers.africastalking.com/   System Status / Incidents: https://status.africastalking.com/ General FAQs The Help Center’s General FAQs collection includes core operational topics such as UserInBlackList, B2B top-ups, system maintenance, supported countries, API endpoints, card top-ups, callback URLs, and dedicated service timelines.  Full collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150820-general-faqs   UserInBlackList UserInBlackList: This occurs if the user has opted out of receiving messages either from the particular sender ID or by blocking all messages when they dial the opt out code.  To whitelist the number (Kenya / Safaricom flow) Dial 456 9# Choose Option 5 — Marketing messages Choose Option 5 — Activate all promo messages   Top up using M-Pesa B2B You can top up your Africa’s Talking account directly from your M-Pesa business account using the M-Pesa B2B API . You initiate a B2B request to Africa’s Talking paybill and provide the correct account number (stash or payment wallet) to credit.  Example B2B request values Destination paybill (PartyB): 525900 Destination account (AccountReference): your_username.api (for stash) , or walletXXXX (your wallet code for payment wallet; insert your actual wallet code) CommandID (CommandID): BusinessPaybill Important: Use BusinessPaybill so the payment is automatically credited to your account.  Topup: info@africastalking.com  Support: info@africastalking.com  Tech Support: techsupport@africastalking.com Sales: sales@africastalking.com DevRel: developerexperience@africastalking.com Undergoing System Maintenance Africa’s Talking periodically performs major system upgrades to improve troubleshooting, feature delivery, and uptime. During maintenance, some services may be periodically affected; high-traffic changes are performed at off-peak times, and systems are monitored to anticipate downtime.  Services that may be affected include: Processing delivery reports Incoming messages on short codes Retrieving data from the dashboard Premium SMS subscriptions Airtime status callbacks Airtime status reports on the dashboard API response delay for airtime (delivery report may be sent to the callback URL before the API response arrives)   Live status / incidents: https://status.africastalking.com/ Topup: info@africastalking.com  Support: info@africastalking.com  Tech Support: techsupport@africastalking.com Sales: sales@africastalking.com DevRel: developerexperience@africastalking.com Countries Supported Africa’s Talking provides a maintained list of supported countries and which services are live in each.  As listed in the Help Center article: Kenya — SMS (Bulk, Two-Way, Premium), USSD, Voice, Airtime, Payments, Internet of Things (IoT) Uganda — SMS (Bulk & Short Code), USSD, Airtime, Voice & Payments Tanzania — SMS (Bulk & Short Code), USSD, Airtime & Payments Rwanda — SMS (Bulk & Short Code), USSD Malawi — SMS, USSD Zambia — SMS (Bulk & Short code), USSD Nigeria — SMS (Bulk & Short Code), USSD, Airtime, Voice & Payments Cote D’Ivoire — SMS (Bulk & Short Code) Ethiopia — SMS (Bulk & Short Code) South Africa — SMS (Bulk & Short Code), USSD  If you’d like to know how long it takes to raise dedicated services in these countries, see the Dedicated Services section below or the Dedicated Services collection.  Topup: info@africastalking.com  Support: info@africastalking.com  Tech Support: techsupport@africastalking.com Sales: sales@africastalking.com DevRel: developerexperience@africastalking.com API Endpoints For quick tests (HTTP POST) without writing code, Africa’s Talking provides official API endpoints for different products in Live and Sandbox .  Airtime Live: https://developers.africastalking.com/docs/airtime/sending Endpoints Live: https://api.africastalking.com/version1/airtime/send Sandbox: https://api.sandbox.africastalking.com/version1/airtime/send Sandbox: https://api.sandbox.africastalking.com/version1/airtime/send   SMS Live: https://api.africastalking.com/version1/messaging Sandbox: https://api.sandbox.africastalking.com/version1/messaging   Voice Live: https://voice.africastalking.com/call Sandbox: https://voice.sandbox.africastalking.com/call   Top up Stash using Card This is the step-by-step process to use card payments to top up your Africa’s Talking Stash .  Steps Sign into your app and navigate to the Billing section. Select Debit/Credit Cards , then enter the currency you wish to pay in and the amount you wish to top up to your stash. Fill in card details. Hit submit.  Supported currencies You can select a currency between: USD KES EUR  Conversion process (two stages) From your card currency to the payment currency selected (KES/USD/EUR): handled by your bank From payment currency to the currency of your app: handled by Africa’s Talking  Transaction charge A transaction charge of 3% is deducted from your card.  Examples If you pay 1000 KES , your app is KES and your card is KES , there is no conversion. You are deducted 1000 KES + transaction charge , and the app is topped up with 1000 KES . If you pay 10 USD , your app is NGN and your card is NGN , there are two conversions (NGN→USD, then USD→NGN). Your app is topped up with the NGN equivalent of 10 USD ; card deduction varies by exchange rate.  Note You are allowed only one card transaction every 30 minutes .  Topup: info@africastalking.com  Support: info@africastalking.com  Tech Support: techsupport@africastalking.com Sales: sales@africastalking.com DevRel: developerexperience@africastalking.com Callback URLs What is a callback URL? A callback URL is an address that a server provides, and any computer on the Internet/private network can POST data to it. This is more efficient than continuously polling for data.  Where Africa’s Talking uses callback URLs SMS delivery: send notifications on status of messages sent out Airtime delivery: send notifications on status of airtime sent out Incoming messages: notify you whenever a user sends a message to your Premium Short Code USSD: notify you when a user dials your USSD code; you respond with a menu Voice: notify you when a user calls; you respond with instructions (XML)  How do I configure my callback URL? This depends on the programming language you are using. Africa’s Talking provides product-specific documentation, tutorials, and sample code in Developer Docs.  Before you interact with code samples, prepare your environment: Web server: run a web server that exposes your application to the Internet (any web server you are familiar with). Publicly exposed URL: your application must be accessible via a public IP/URL. Localhost is not accessible from Africa’s Talking servers. (Conceptual guidance; tools used to expose localhost vary.)  Developer Docs: https://developers.africastalking.com/   How do I debug my callback URL? Checklist for debugging why your callback might not be receiving POST requests:  500 Internal Server Error: your callback URL returned an internal error; verify your code and your response. 403 Forbidden: server denied access; check permissions and hosting rules (may require allowlisting, depending on hosting setup). 405 Method Not Allowed: POST is not enabled; enable POST on the endpoint. SSL handshake / SSL engine problem: certificate validity or TLS configuration can cause failures.  If unresolved, email: techsupport@africastalking.com Dedicated Services Timelines Dedicated services (Sender IDs, short codes, USSD codes) are provisioned per country/telco and can involve regulators. For the authoritative source and updates, use the Dedicated Services collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150842-dedicated-services ( help.africastalking.com ) Kenya Safaricom Sender ID: 2 working days Dedicated Short Code: 2 working days Dedicated USSD Code: 3–4 weeks Airtel Sender ID: 5 working days Dedicated Short Code: 2–4 months Dedicated USSD Code: 2 weeks Telkom Sender ID: 2 working days Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Equitel Sender ID: 7–14 working days Dedicated Short Code: 3 weeks Dedicated USSD Code: 3 weeks Safaricom Sender ID note: Sender IDs are raised before 12:30 PM on Mondays and Thursdays . Official Kenya timelines: https://help.africastalking.com/en/articles/2206521-how-long-does-it-take-to-raise-dedicated-services-in-kenya ( help.africastalking.com ) Nigeria MTN Sender ID: 1 working day Shared Short Code: 1 working day Shared USSD Code: 1 working day Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A 9 Mobile Sender ID: 1 working day Shared Short Code: 1 working day Shared USSD Code: 1 working day Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Airtel Sender ID: 1 working day Shared Short Code: 1 working day Shared USSD Code: 1 working day Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Glo Sender ID: 1 working day Shared Short Code: 1 working day Shared USSD Code: 1 working day Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A For onboarding timelines (including regulator-driven dedicated code timelines), see: https://help.africastalking.com/en/articles/2285287-how-long-does-it-take-to-get-onboarded-in-nigeria ( help.africastalking.com Tanzania Dedicated services (short codes and USSD codes) are raised through the regulator TCRA . Vodacom Sender ID: 3 working days Dedicated Short Code: 3 months Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Airtel Sender ID: 3 working days Dedicated Short Code: 4 months Dedicated USSD Code: N/A tiGO Sender ID: 3 working days Dedicated Short Code: 3 months Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Halotel Sender ID: 3 working days Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Zantel Sender ID: N/A Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Official Tanzania timelines: https://help.africastalking.com/en/articles/2285797-how-long-does-it-take-to-raise-dedicated-services-in-tanzania ( help.africastalking.com) Uganda Dedicated services (short codes and USSD codes) are raised through the regulator UCC . MTN Sender ID: 7–14 working days Dedicated Short Code: 4 months Dedicated USSD Code: 4 months Airtel Sender ID: 7 working days Dedicated Short Code: 4 months Dedicated USSD Code: 4 months Africell Sender ID: 2 weeks Dedicated Short Code: 4 months Dedicated USSD Code: 4 months UTL Sender ID: N/A Dedicated Short Code: N/A Dedicated USSD Code: N/A Official Uganda timelines: https://help.africastalking.com/en/articles/2285788-how-long-does-it-take-to-raise-dedicated-services-in-uganda ( help.africastalking.com) Rwanda and Malawi Rwanda Sender IDs: currently free Dedicated services are raised through the regulator RURA MTN Dedicated Short Code: 6 weeks Dedicated USSD Code: 6 weeks Airtel/tiGO N/A (as listed in the Help Center article) Malawi Sender IDs: currently free TNM Sender ID: 4 weeks Dedicated Short Code: 4 weeks Dedicated USSD Code: 4 weeks Shared Short Code: 2 working days Shared USSD Code: 2 working days Airtel Sender ID: 4 weeks Dedicated Short Code: 4 weeks Dedicated USSD Code: 4 weeks Shared Short Code: 2 working days Shared USSD Code: 2 working days Official Rwanda & Malawi timelines: https://help.africastalking.com/en/articles/2285370-how-long-does-it-take-to-get-dedicated-services-in-rwanda-and-malawi ( help.africastalking.com ) Quick Guide to Africa’s Talking How do I register an account? Register here: https://account.africastalking.com/auth/register   Registration requires: First & Last Name Email Address Password Country Agree to Terms of Service  After registration you receive a welcome email and an account verification email. Verify before proceeding; unverified accounts have limited functionality.  Why can’t I log into my account? The Help Center recommends clearing Africa’s Talking site data and trying private browsing mode. (The Help Center article contains external links for browser-specific instructions; this forum post omits those external links.)  How do I change my password? Two scenarios: Forgot password: use Forgot Password on login; follow reset link in email. Logged in: go to My Account , scroll to Change Password section, update password.  What are the Sandbox and Live environments? Sandbox is free and routes interactions to a simulator; Live is production and routes to real phone numbers. Sandbox dashboard is typically orange; live dashboard is typically green.  What is my Username and API Key? Username is the application username used for API authentication. API Key is also used for authentication. On Sandbox, the username is always sandbox.  How do I generate an API Key? Live users Log in → App dashboard Settings → API Key Enter password → Generate Copy and store securely (not shown again) Wait a few minutes before testing  Sandbox users Log in → Go to Sandbox App Settings → API Key Enter password → Generate Copy and store securely (not shown again) Wait a few minutes before testing  “Supplied Authentication is Invalid” Common checks: Confirm environment (sandbox vs live) Sandbox username must be sandbox and key must be generated in sandbox dashboard Live must use your application username and live key Keys are separate per environment After generating a new key, allow a few minutes before testing  Account Management How to create a new team On the home dashboard, click + New Team Enter team name → Save   How do I create an application? Select the team to create the app in Click Create App Enter application name, username , select country App username is used for authentication Country determines currency shown on the app Save You cannot delete an app completely; you can only disable it.  How to merge accounts Initiate from the source account (the account you don’t want) In My Account , click Merge Account Confirmation link is sent to the destination account email; merge completes after confirmation  How do I add a member to my team? Member roles: Owner: owns the account; can modify all values Admin: same rights as owner but does not own the application Write: can change values except API key and balance notification settings Read: cannot change application values  Steps: Go to the Team Click Add Member Enter email, select member type, save Revoking access: use the three-dots next to member email to change role or remove.  SMS (Detailed) For full SMS FAQs, see the SMS collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150764-sms   Making Your SMS Characters Count (Encoding & Billing) GSM encoding basics Standard SMS cap: 160 characters under GSM 7-bit default encoding If your message contains characters outside GSM 03.38 charset, it may be encoded differently and can reduce per-SMS length (commonly to 70 chars), causing segmentation and higher billing.  GSM 03.38 default charset (7-bit) Using only these characters typically allows up to 160 characters per SMS: @ £ $ ¥ è é ù ì ò Ç Ø ø Å å ∆ _ Φ Γ Λ Ω Π Ψ Σ Θ Ξ Æ æ ß É ! ” # ¤ % & ’ ( ) * = , - . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ? ¡ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Ä Ö Ñ Ü § ¿ \ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ä ö ñ ü à` Extension table characters (take 2 character spaces) ^ { } \ [ ~ ] | € Practical tips: Avoid Unicode characters when you want maximum length Be careful with invisible characters from rich-text editors Prefer plain-text editors when composing templates Be mindful of symbols that take 2 spaces (extension table)  SMS formatting helpers New line: \n Escape special characters: \ (single backslash)  Why was my message billed twice? Messages exceeding segment limit are billed as multiple messages Hidden characters can trigger unexpected segmentation (often introduced by rich editors)  Why did my messages fail? (3-stage model) API submission stage (auth issues, unmapped sender ID/short code, invalid number, insufficient balance, risk holds) “Sent” stage (AT delivered to telco; waiting for final telco status) Delivery report stage (final telco outcome)  Common delivery report outcomes: Failed, Rejected, Submitted, Buffered, Success Common failure reasons you may encounter include: DeliveryFailure, InsufficientCredit, InvalidLinkId, UserIsInactive, UserInBlackList, UserAccountSuspended, NotNetworkSubscriber, UserNotSubscribedToProduct, UserDoesNotExist  Risk Hold error If you see “Risk Hold”, contact info@africastalking.com as indicated in SMS guidance.  USSD (Detailed) For full USSD FAQs, see the USSD collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150775-ussd   “Dear customer, the network is experiencing technical problems…” This typically indicates your server returned an error or did not respond correctly/quickly to the USSD callback. See the USSD troubleshooting articles in the collection.  USSD session statuses Incomplete: session ended while user input was still required Success: session reached expected end Failed: session terminated due to error from your server while expecting a response  404 errors (callback URL not found) A 404 commonly means your callback URL endpoint is unreachable or the path is wrong. Confirm your public URL is active and correctly configured.  Events URL An Events URL is where end-of-session notifications are sent (status, cost, duration, hops, etc.). See “What is an events URL?” within the USSD collection.  Airtime / Voice / Short Codes / Mobile Data Airtime Airtime FAQs include enabling airtime, transaction limits, why “Sent” but not received, transaction failure outcomes, cross-country request errors, validation API, and more. Collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150760-airtime   Payments Payments FAQs cover portal access for till/paybill, moving paybills, wallet transfers, mobile checkout activation, bank withdrawals, and insufficient funds errors. Collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150790-payments   Voice Voice FAQs cover OTPs, SIP trunking, IVR, parameters, hangup causes, concurrent calls, pricing by country, virtual numbers, events URLs, and security considerations for callbacks. Collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150771-voice   Short Codes (Premium SMS) Shortcodes FAQs cover MO/MT differences, subscription vs on-demand, linkId, revenue share, and requirements for shared/dedicated short codes. Collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/1652811-shortcodes   Mobile Data Mobile Data FAQs cover activation and wallet top-ups (including Uganda). Collection: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/5846311-mobile-data   Support contacts (as used across Help Center) General support: support@africastalking.com  Payments: payments@africastalking.com  General inquiries / provisioning: info@africastalking.com  Start here • Help Center (Home): https://help.africastalking.com/en/ • General FAQs: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150820-general-faqs • Quick Guide to Africa’s Talking (Getting started): https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150795-quick-guide-to-africa-s-talking Core platform & setup • Wallet Management (Billing / Stash / Wallet): https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/13993701-wallet-management-guide • Callback URLs (Webhooks): https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150832-callback-urls • Dedicated Services (Sender ID / Shortcodes / USSD): https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150842-dedicated-services Product collections • SMS: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150764-sms • USSD: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150775-ussd • Airtime: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150760-airtime • Payments: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150790-payments • Voice: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/150771-voice • Shortcodes (Premium SMS): https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/1652811-shortcodes • Mobile Data: https://help.africastalking.com/en/collections/5846311-mobile-data System health • Status / Incidents: https://status.africastalking.com/ Developer reference • Developer Docs: https://developers.africastalking.com/ Support emails (as used across Help Center) • support@africastalking.com (general support) • payments@africastalking.com (payments & top-ups) • info@africastalking.com (general inquiries & provisioning)

General & Account Management Q: How do I verify my account to remove team and app restrictions? A: After verifying your email, your account is initially limited to one team and one application. To fully verify your account and lift these restrictions (allowing up to 5 teams and apps), one of your applications must interact with the API in a production capacity, such as sending a live SMS or performing an airtime top-up. Q: What is the difference between my "Stash" and my "Wallet"? A: The AT Stash is your primary application balance used to pay for operational costs like SMS, Voice, USSD, and Airtime fees. The Payments Wallet is a separate balance used specifically for funds being moved via Payment products (e.g., B2C disbursements or B2B transfers). Q: How do I top up my account using M-Pesa B2B (Kenya)? A: You can top up by initiating a B2B request to Paybill 525900 . Use the account number your_username.api to credit your stash, or walletXXXX (where XXXX is your wallet code) for your payment wallet. Ensure you use the BusinessPaybill command ID for automatic crediting. Q: How do I handle the "UserInBlackList" error in Kenya? A: This occurs if a user has opted out of marketing messages. To whitelist a number, the user must dial *456*9# on their handset, choose Option 5 (Marketing Messages), and select the option to "Activate all promo messages". SMS Services Q: Why was I billed for multiple messages when my text was under 160 characters? A: Standard SMS units are 160 characters using GSM 7-bit encoding. If your message contains a single Unicode character (like an emoji, special symbol, or "smart" quote from a word processor), the entire message switches to 8-bit encoding, which reduces the limit to 70 characters per unit. Hidden characters from rich-text editors can also cause this; using plain-text editors like Notepad++ is recommended. Q: Can I send SMS to "Do Not Disturb" (DND) numbers in Nigeria? A: Yes, but only for Transactional messages (OTPs or alerts requested by the user). You must register your Sender ID on a "Transactional Bind," which requires a whitelisting process with telcos that typically takes 2 weeks and specific KYC documentation. Q: What does the "Risk Hold" error mean? A: This is a security measure triggered when fraudulent traffic is detected or when a user continues to use the default AFRICASTKNG sender ID after being assigned a personal one. To resolve this, you must acquire and use your own unique Sender ID. Voice & USSD Q: What is the difference between a Callback URL and an Events URL? A: The Callback URL is used to receive requests from the API to determine call logic (e.g., providing XML instructions like Say or Play ). The Events URL is used solely for status notifications, such as when a call is ringing, answered, or completed. Q: Why do my users see "network technical problems" when dialing my USSD code? A: This generic error indicates that the USSD gateway received an invalid response or a timeout from your server. Ensure your callback URL is publicly accessible, responds within the timeout limit, and that every response is prefixed with either CON (to continue the session) or END (to terminate it). Q: Can I test Voice features in the Sandbox? A: No, the Voice sandbox is not currently operational. To test voice functionality, you should request a "Test Number" through your production dashboard. Payments & Mobile Data Q: How do I activate Mobile Data on my account? A: Mobile Data is disabled by default for security reasons. To enable it, you must submit a signed and stamped request on your company letterhead, fill out a contact form, and sign a formal service agreement with the team. Q: How can I move money from my wallet to my bank account? A: You can initiate a B2B transaction via the Payments API. Set the destination channel to your bank's paybill (e.g., 247247 for Equity Bank) and the destination account to your specific bank account number. Q: How do I download the SDK if I am using shared hosting? A: Shared hosting often restricts the use of package managers like Composer. The solution is to install the SDK in a local "vendor" folder using Composer first, and then upload the entire zipped project (including the vendor folder) to your hosting server.