Community
Build the future of African language AI - with us
No matter your background - researcher, engineer, linguist, student - there is a meaningful role for you in KenyaNLP. We're especially looking for Kenyan language speakers and NLP researchers.
Ways to contribute
Data & sourcing
Help identify, collect, and validate Kenyan language datasets. Knowledge of a Kenyan language is a superpower here.
Model evaluation
Run experiments, evaluate models with lm-harness, and document results across tasks and languages.
Research writing
Contribute to papers, help craft the KenBench story, and support workshop and conference submissions.
Outreach & communications
Help grow the community, coordinate with partners, and represent KenyaNLP at events and conferences.
Community activities
Reading group
Regular sessions on the latest African NLP papers, methods, and community research.
Workshops & meetups
In-person and hybrid meetups in Nairobi, Maseno, and online. Next: Synthesis Workshop, April 2026.
Mentorship
Junior-senior researcher pairing to guide contributors through publication and project work.
Getting started
Fill the form
Submit your interest via our contact page
Join WhatsApp
Get added to our community group
Attend intro call
Meet the team on our next onboarding session
Pick a task
Choose a project and start contributing
Incentives
- ✓ Co-authorship on publications
- ✓ Access to compute resources
- ✓ Present at Deep Learning Indaba, AfricaNLP, and EACL
- ✓ Mentorship from experienced NLP researchers
Frequently asked questions
Do I need machine learning experience?+
No. We welcome contributors at all levels. Language speakers, writers, data annotators, and organizers are just as valuable as ML engineers. We'll match you with tasks that fit your skills.
How much time do I need to commit?+
It's flexible. Some contributors spend 2-3 hours per week, others contribute in focused sprints. We respect that everyone has other commitments.
Can I contribute remotely?+
Absolutely. Most of our collaboration happens online via WhatsApp, Google Meet, and shared documents. We have contributors across Kenya, Europe, and the US.
Do I need to be Kenyan?+
Not at all. Anyone passionate about African language technology is welcome. However, knowledge of a Kenyan language is especially valued for data tasks.
Will I get published?+
Active contributors to KenBench and other projects are credited as co-authors on research papers. Our target venues include AfricaNLP, EACL, and Deep Learning Indaba.