Open-source tools can power Africa

Imagine a recipe that anyone can read, copy and improve. A cook in Lagos tweaks it, and a student in Kigali adapts it to locally available ingredients. That is the value of open-source software and designs: their blueprints are shared rather than locked behind a company’s walls.

Much of what we use daily, from phone apps to websites, runs on code built collaboratively. In a world where a handful of firms control much of our technology, open source argues that the tools shaping our lives should be accessible to everyone to build on and trust.