Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcomes & Hellos! 🫂​

Winter ❄️ has fallen. Get it? Winterfell? Anyway, we hope that you are all well and building as usual. If you did not join us last month in August, then you missed out on a lot. Worry not, for reading this will help you stay in the loop on what we have been up to lately. Whether you are reading this from the comfort of your German Machine 🚗, duvet 🛏️, or otherwise:

This is Episode #30 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter...

Breaking the Walled Garden: Getting Into The iOS Ecosystem in Kenya 🍎​

As if sent to break 🔨 the monotony, John Gachuhi kickstarted his session by introducing the audience to the iOS landscape in Kenya 🇰🇪. He captivated them by further exploring some incredible insights 💬 on navigating Apple's ecosystem from an African developer's perspective...

From Chaos to Clarity: A Practical Architecture for Compose Apps 🏗️​

With all the hype 🗣️ that is constantly being, well, hyped, it is easy to get carried away and forget that Compose exists and that sometimes, building from scratch is the way. Anyway, before you click off and check out your next Coding Assistant 🤖 or whatever trend has been put up, Joel Kanyi took the attendees through what it takes to build a well-architected Compose application. As a bonus 🎁, he also educated them on what not to do by revealing a messy Compose Codebase that he may or may not have written...

Shipping Feedback Loop: Accelerating User-Centric Delivery​

What better way to close a remarkable meetup by hearing from The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE? While the technical aspects of the previous sessions were critical in sharpening the community members' skills 🧠, he resourcefully shared some good advice about Shipping. Well, not the Amazon 📦 kind but rather, the one where you publish your Android App to Google Play Store and consent to being tortured for weeks on end until they decide to pardon you and have your Android App published but then swiftly remove it and ban you due to who knows what and then ghost you for eternity and therefore waste your time and let me calm down now 😤. Anyway, he essentially asked the room to focus more on building Products than GitHub Projects...

The Community Showcase 🙌​

Do you want to see what our talented community members have been up to? Here you go: 👇

Koffee​

Koffee is a "lightweight, animated toast system for Jetpack Compose. Serve your toasts hot, cold, or custom brewed". Here are some of its "toasty" features:

• 🍞 Simple toast host & state management
• 🪄 Animated entrance/exit with layout awareness
• 🧊 Supports multiple types of toasts: Info, Success, Error, etc.
• 🧩 Plug-and-play composables for custom toast UIs
• 🔧 Customizable positioning, dismissal, durations
• 🪶 Lightweight with zero dependencies

For more information, please check out this article...

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst 😬. Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members 🤯? Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for 😳? Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until September 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one 😃. As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that 🤓? Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in September. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something 😉...

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• John Gachuhi
• Joel Kanyi
• The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE

3. The Organising Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet
• Victor Kirui

4. Meetup Host​

• Paystack

5. Sponsors & Partners​

• Paystack

6. Featured​

• Koffee

7. The Community Members​

• The Community Members [Android254]
• The Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcomes & Hellos! 🫂​

If you are not a Hot Beverage Addict ☕ by now, you are either brave or live dangerously. Regardless, we do not judge for this is our Community. We are fired up to show you what we have been up to this month despite the chilly Winter. Whether you are reading this from the comfort of your German Machine 🚗, duvet 🛏️, or otherwise:

This is Episode #29 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter...

Building an AI-Powered App with Vertex AI​

In the first part of The July Meetup, Donald Isoe introduced the audience to AI 🤖, and how it could be used to build Mobile Apps 📱. Through ItinerarAI, powered by Vertex AI, he showed the attendees what was possible when you know how to utilise AI in your arsenal of tools. The laptops in the room were on fire 🔥 by the end of the session as this was a workshop too...

The Community Showcase 🙌​

Do you want to see what our talented community members have been up to? Here you go: 👇

GMS​

"GMS (Gym Management System) is a powerful mobile tool built for gym Admins and Trainers to efficiently manage daily gym operations. From user records to payment tracking and attendance logs, GMS helps streamline your workflows — all from your phone.

🚀 Key Features:

👥 User Management

• Easily add, update, and view member profiles, including contact details and emergency info. Trainers can access their assigned members at a glance.

🕒 Attendance Tracking

• Log and monitor member attendance for classes or general check-ins. A quick view of attendance history helps in tracking member engagement.

💰 Payment Processing

• Track member payments directly within the app. Designed with M-Pesa in mind, the system helps you verify and manage payment history with ease.

📅 Plans & Subscriptions

• Create and manage different membership plans and subscriptions. See who is on which plan and when their renewal is due."

~ Samuel Juma [The Owner of GMS]

👉🏽 Check it out on Google Play Store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samueljuma.gmsmobile&pcampaignid=web_share

Fire Remix​

If the title does not reveal what this month's project is all about, then we do not know what language 💬 we can use to help you understand. Kotlin, perhaps 😉? Jokes aside, we are excited to introduce Fire Remix, the App that will transform your journey in Music. Notice that we said "App" and not "Mobile App". Why? Well, at the time of writing this, Fire Remix is now compatible with Android TV 📺. You know what, please check out the demo here if you do not believe us: https://x.com/ibensalcie/status/1948365584250368249...

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst 😬. Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members 🤯? Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for 😳? Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until August 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one 😃. As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that 🤓? Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in August. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something 😉...

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Donald Isoe

3. The Organising Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet
• Victor Kirui

4. Meetup Host​

• Daystar University

5. Sponsors & Partners​

• Google

6. Featured​

• Samuel Juma
• Ben Salcie

7. The Community Members​

• The Community Members [Android254]
• The Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcomes & Hellos! 🫂​

You have set up your Environment 💻, filled your cup of Coffee ☕ for the nth time, and even found your heat source 🔥 as we encouraged you to last time, but you are still wondering what is missing, right? We can help you with that, again. Whether it is from the comfort of your German Machine 🚗, duvet 🛏️, or otherwise:

This is Episode #28 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter...

Firebase App Distribution with GitHub Actions​

To kickstart the rather chilly day ❄️, Blannon Ngoge introduced the audience to Firebase App Distribution with GitHub Actions. Get it? "Firebase" and "chilly day"? Anyway, through this practical session, the attendees got to learn how to distribute their Mobile Apps for Testing 🧪, using GitHub Actions, which is probably one of if not the most efficient way of Mobile App Distribution 🔁...

Building Chronos: A Smartwatch App​

All the way from the world of Embedded Systems, we had Felix Biego who wasted no time [pun intended] in taking the audience through the evolution of his flagship project, Chronos, which is your essential Smartwatch Companion App that can seamlessly connect your Smartwatch ⌚ and Smartphone 📱 for a truly integrated and convenient experience. He also broke down what tools were used during each iteration, not to mention the problems that kickstarted this project altogether. Now that is what we call Design Thinking 💡...

GitHub Education​

Do you want some Pizza 🍕? Well, you missed out on it during this meetup 😔. The good news is that courtesy of Charles Moruri and Eugene Oyier, we partnered with GitHub and GitHub Education to offer you a chance to apply for a GitHub Education Pack. If you want one or are interested in learning more about it, then simply click me. Go on,now 🤨...

The Community Showcase 🙌​

Do you want to see what our talented community members have been up to? Here you go: 👇

Motii​

If you have been following us for a while now, as you should, then you know too well that some of us love German Machines 🚗 and stuff. Well, maybe a little too much for one of us in particular 😜. Anyway, we are excited to showcase a product that will not only revolutionise the Car market in Kenya, but will also come in handy when you go buy your very own German Machine or otherwise 😮. Earlier this month, The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE shipped Motii, which is a Mobile App that provides up to date current CRSP for vehicles in Kenya. Why should you get ripped off with this kind of power in your hands? 🤨

Check out Motii on Google Play Store here 👉🏽: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.bizilabs.app.motii&pcampaignid=web_share

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst 😬. Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members 🤯? Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for 😳? Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until July 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one 😃. As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that 🤓? Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in July. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something 😉...

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Blannon Ngoge
• Felix Biego

3. The Organising Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet
• Victor Kirui

4. Meetup Host​

• Daystar University

5. Sponsors and Partners​

• GitHub
• GitHub Education
• Snapp Mobile

6. Featured​

• The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE

7. Our Community Members​

• Our Community Members [Android254]
• Our Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcomes & Hellos! 🫂​

As we slowly ease into the Winter season ❄️, we know that for most of you, finding a reliable source of heat is crucial. We also know that some of you missed that amazing event and that is why you are reading this, whether it is from the comfort of your German Machine 🚗, duvet 🛏️, or otherwise...

This is Episode #27 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter...

Thamani 📊​

With the advent of The End Month, we know that you are getting ready to chop that money 💰. Working Class, hello 👋🏽. Anyway, this month's meetup had The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE showcase Thamani. For those of us who are yet to acquire our German Machines 🚙, we understand that exposing our MPESA Balance while confirming our Bus Fare payments can be a little bit difficult. Before you cringe with disgust, allow us to present to you the solution to that very problem. Thamani is an app product that not only displays your MPESA Message in probably the most dynamic ways imaginable, but it also blurs your MPESA Balance. If you are not celebrating by now, then please keep scrolling. For the rest of us, check out Thamani here...

The Google I/O Recap [2025 Edition] 🤖​

1] What is New in Jetpack Compose? 🎨​

Do you like Text? Yes, you heard me right. Do you like Text? Whether you do or not, you will probably be glad to know what is new in Jetpack Compose this year since it was mostly about Text. From the TextField to Modifier, Android Engineers will surely have an easier time making their products more user-friendly 🫂. How do we know this 😮? Thanks to Samuel Muigai talking about the latest featues in Jetpack Compose, our community members had more reasons to embrace Jetpack Compose. If you have not then, this is your sign 🫵🏽...

2] What is New in Android Developer Tools? 🧰​

Do you not like it when you have an easy time when building 👨🏽‍💻? We do too and that is why we invited Mr. Arsenal to take the audience through the latest updates on Android Developer Tools. From AI-powered UI Testing Tools ⚙️ to Firebase Studio 🔥, nobody in the room had any reason to complain about their Developer Experience, given the free [for now] tools at their disposal...

The Community Showcase 🙌​

Do you want to see what our talented community members have been up to? Here you go: 👇

Voyager [Not The KMP Library]​

"Remember Voyager? I've been working on enhancing it with new features to provide even more comprehensive information about each nation." ~ The Droidette

"In today’s increasingly connected world, understanding different cultures and countries has never been more important. This realisation, coupled with my desire to enhance my Android development skills, led me to create Voyager — an application designed to be a window to the world’s diverse nations and cultures." ~ The Droidette

If you thought that our veterans have lost their spark, then as usual, I am glad to prove you wrong 😌. Why is that? Well, with the advent of Kotlin Multiplatform The Droidette decided to revamp one of her products and revamp, she did 🤯. If you are persistent enough to still doubt me, then first off I admire your determination. You would make a great Android Engineer 😉. Anyway, here is a sneek peak to what Voyager has to offer:

Since she anticipated how much you would love it by now, here is an article for the nerds in the room who want to understand what magic she used to build it, and also the link to the product itself if you want to know what tomorrow's weather will be:

The Article: https://medium.com/@gitaujaquiline/voyager-my-journey-building-an-android-app-to-explore-the-world-part-1-9cfd087c6b18

The Google Play Store App Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jacqui.voyager

Compose Previews Done Right (After Doing Them Wrong)​

"Has this happened to you?

You fire up a preview, and suddenly, it’s asking for a Navigator/NavController. Great. Guess we’re relaunching the app.

Or you have Render Issues, you have no idea what it means when it tells you there is no string resource with that name, yet your IDE is pointing to something in the res folder. “It is even showing the resource itself minus the reference caller. What do you mean it doesn’t exist?”

Compose Previews are supposed to save us time. But somehow, they end up doing the opposite, especially when your UI isn’t just a pretty button in a box..." ~ Donald Isoe

By this point, you already know that we not only advise but also encourage our members to adopt Jetpack Compose 🤷🏽‍♂️. However, what happens if they do not know how to use the Preview feature in Jetpack Compose? As you might have already guessed, we have that covered already since Donald Isoe published an article ✍🏽 that will take you through everything you need to know about Jetpack Compose Previews. You know that? Just check out the article already. It costs you nothing but you gain everything. Well, not everything in general but you will definitely write better Jetpack Compose Previews. Trust us on this 😜...

Here is the article: https://medium.com/@donaldokara123/compose-previews-done-right-after-doing-them-wrong-ccd8ee990cf8

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst. 😬 Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members? 🤯 Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for? 😳 Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until June 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one. 😃 As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that? 🤓 Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in June. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something... 😉

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE
• Mr. Arsenal
• Samuel Muigai

3. The Organising Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet
• Victor Kirui

4. Meetup Host​

• Daystar University

5. Sponsors and Partners​

• Snapp Mobile

6. Featured​

• The Droidette

7. Our Community Members​

• Our Community Members [Android254]
• Our Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcomes & Hellos! 🫂​

While others were fooled on April Fools' 🤡, we know that you guys have been doing nothing but building like the intelligent individuals you are 🤓. We know that some of you missed that amazing event and that is why you are reading this, whether it is from the comfort of your German Machine 🚗 or otherwise...

This is Episode #26 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter...

Mastering Kotlin Coroutines: Advanced Patterns for Efficient Concurrency 🌀​

Like the Master 🧙🏿‍♂️ he is, Eric Wathome took the audience through Kotlin Coroutines. You will be forgiven for thinking that he glossed over it since he proved not to be your average Android Engineer. Why? 😮 Well, let us just say he simplified everything that you would need to know about Kotlin Coroutines even if you are just starting out in Kotlin. You would also be pardoned for thinking that this was all that we had for our members. Keep scrolling to get a gist of the second session of the day 😉...

Android, Compose, Multiplatform & Server: Inject Them All With Koin 💉​

If Koin was an individual, then he would be none other than The Koin Lead 😤. The attendees were in for a treat 🤩 as he used no slides and wasted no time coding up his session. He made sure that in the end, everyone in the room knew how to inject 💉 every Kotlin Multiplatform and Compose Multiplatform using the best Dependency Injection Framework: Koin...

The Mobile Design Masterclass 🎨​

Your app's design sucks 🚮...

Well, we hope not. However, if it does indeed suck then are you interested in refining your UI/UX skills? 🖌️ Would you like to activate The Wow Factor in your users? 😯 Does the idea of an immersive learning session sound interesting to you? 🤓

Android254 & Kotlin Kenya are proud to partner with The UX Girl to present The Mobile Design Masterclass 🎨. Join us for the next 12 weeks as we embark on a journey to prevent your users from telling their friends about how bad your app's design is...

To sign up, please contact ☎️ The UX Girl at +254791658351 by the 2nd of May 🗓️ to reserve your slot and claim your discount if registering as a group...

The Community Showcase 🙌​

Do you want to see what our talented community members have been up to? Here you go: 👇

GigzConnect 💼​

GigzConnect is the ultimate platform for connecting gig seekers with employers that was built by Wallace Wahong'o and Charles Muchogo. Whether you are looking for short-term jobs, freelance gigs, or contract work, GigzConnect makes finding opportunities effortless. Employers can quickly post job listings and hire skilled professionals in just a few clicks...

Their seamless interface ensures a smooth experience for both job seekers and businesses. Filter gigs based on your skills, location, or pay preference, and apply instantly. Get real-time notifications for new opportunities and stay ahead in the gig economy...

For employers, GigzConnect provides a streamlined hiring process, helping you find the right talent quickly. Post gigs, review applications, and connect with professionals, all in one place...

Join GigzConnect today and take control of your work life. Whether you're looking to earn extra income or find skilled gig workers, they have got you covered 🚀...

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst. 😬 Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members? 🤯 Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for? 😳 Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until May 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one. 😃 As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that? 🤓 Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in May. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something... 😉

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Eric Wathome
• Theophilus Kibet

3. The Organising Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet
• Victor Kirui

4. Meetup Host​

• Daystar University

5. Sponsors and Partners​

• Snapp Mobile
• The UX Girl

6. Featured​

• Wallace Wahong'o
• Charles Muchogo

7. Our Community Members​

• Our Community Members [Android254]
• Our Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcomes & Hellos! 🫂​

As we welcome the month of Vibe Coding 😌, we hope that you are filled with good vibes at the time of reading this. If not then do not worry for this episode has short but sweet stuff 😋 to offer and we hope that they make you feel better for we are focused on nothing but you, the community member. We know that some of you missed that amazing event and that is why you are reading this, whether it is from the comfort of your German Machine 🚗 or otherwise...

This is Episode #25 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter...

Why Android Security Matters: Common Threats in Mobile Application and How We Can Fix Them 🔐​

Do you think that your Android app is secure? 🤣 Think again for Brandy Odhiambo educated the audience on the importance of Android Security. She started by narrating a short story about how she built an Animation app using an API only to use an Android Security tool which revealed that her API Key was vulnerable to a Cyber Attack 🤡. The moral or rather lesson from this story is the importance of securing your Android app. Check out her presentation to learn more 📝...

Backend Blitz: Supercharge Your Android Apps with Ktor, Redis, and MongoDB (Workshop) ⚙️​

In the beginning, we heard a few words 🗣️ from The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE who wasted no time in introducing the audience to Ktor through an interactive workshop. He even demonstrated the importance of Error Handling by use of code samples which also referenced the aspect of Security in a User-Account setting in the context [pun intended] of Product 📦. As if both of them were doing a collaborative session 🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏿, we had Pasaka Mutuku who dived deeper into Ktor and presented everything that a Mobile Engineer would need to know in the context [pun again] of Backend Development...

The Community Showcase 🙌​

Do you want to see what our talented community members have been up to? Here you go: 👇

The Android Architecture [feat. The Linux Kernel]​

If you are an Android Engineer, then you are probably familiar with The Android Architecture, right? However, we both know that you only cram it just to pass those interviews, right? 😉 What if we promised you a faster and more enjoyable way to not only learn but internalise it? 🤯 What if there was a series of articles that used fun analogies to help you learn more about The Android Architecture? 😨 What if that series actually exists and you are about to find out more about it? 😱

Alright alright, enough talk and more showing. This month's feature is a series of Medium articles by our very own Emmanuel Muturia™ 🤓. For the past month, he has been relentlessly 😮‍💨 publishing weekly articles and posts that take the reader on a deep dive into each component of The Android Architecture. To embrace his obsession with Cars and stuff 🏎️, he used analogies on the same to break down the technical concepts so if you are at the slightest bit intrigued by this then your journey starts here...

While you are at it, consider checking out more of his work. Trust us. You will thank us later...

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst. 😬 Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members? 🤯 Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for? 😳 Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until April 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one. 😃 As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that? 🤓 Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in April. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something... 😉

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Brandy Odhiambo
• The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE
• Pasaka Mutuku

3. The Organising Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet
• Victor Kirui

4. Meetup Host​

• Daystar University

5. Sponsors and Partners​

• Snapp Mobile

6. Featured​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

7. Our Community Members​

• Our Community Members [Android254]
• Our Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcome & Hello! 🫂​

For some of you, this has been the loveliest month of the year, has it not? 😜 Do not worry if you do not belong to this category of humans for we neither judge nor discriminate. 🤗 As Android254/Kotlin Kenya, we love to love our community members and this past meetup was nothing short of proof of our commitment to providing value to them. We know that some of you missed that amazing event and that is why you are reading this, whether it is from the comfort of your German Machine 🚗 or otherwise...

This is Episode #24 of The Kotlin Kenya Monthly Newsletter... ✍️

Bug Squashers, Feature Code: How Streeek Engineers Build, Ship, and Repeat 🔁​

If you are passionate about washing dishes 🧽 and stuff, then this was the session for you. Jokes aside, The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE took the attendees through an engaging 'Show and Tell' kind of session featuring his team's latest product, Streeek. By the end of this session or rather masterclass or maybe crash course, the audience acquired the skills needed to successfully build, ship, and iterate on an Android product straight from Ideation 🧠 to Production ✅...

Mastering Efficient Data Loading with Android Paging 🌀​

Are you a fanatic of Performance in Android? 😃 If so, then you should have definitely attended the session held by Benard Mathu. He rigorously demonstrated how to use the Paging library to efficiently load data. This session enhanced the Performance skills of the attendees as they later received some goodies 🎁 for participating in the Q and A segment ✋, just like with the other sessions. Do you now see why you should not have missed out on this?

Hai 🤑​

To close the day, Sam Ngigi wasted no time ⏳ in showcasing his latest product, Hai, since time is money 💰. Hai is an Android app that is primarily tailored to solve your Financial Health issues by allowing you to:

• Automatically backup/sync all our SMS M-pesa transaction records to your google sheets...
• Get Yearly and Monthly Summary/Retrospectives on spending and income with relevant insights...

Do we even need to tell you how awed the audience was when they were educated on the value that this product would provide to their Financial Health? 😮 Stay tuned for more updates on Hai...

The Announcement 📣​

We have an announcement. This is a big one. It is probably our biggest one yet so you better not skip this part 🤨. As you know, Android254/Kotlin Kenya is the best Tech community to ever exist, right? 😌 I mean, can you deny that? 😏 Anyway, to coincide with that fact, we are proud to announce that we will soon be launching an Android app for the community 🥳. Yes, yes, and yes. Soon, you will no longer have to switch between different platforms to access everything about us. From the sessions, to the announcements, to even the newsletter, you will be able to access all of these and much more from the comfort of your smartphone 📱. Of course, we know that you guys [and gals] love building so we will provide you with the GitHub Repository for the app so that you can join us in crafting a product that is built by the community for the community. Does this sound good? 😉 All that we ask is that you follow us on our socials to be in the loop once we make the announcement. We cannot wait to collaborate with you on that project so stay tuned... 👂

The Community Showcase 🙌​

Do you want to see what our talented community members have been up to? Here you go: 👇

Flext​

If you have been Job Hunting lately, then you know how brutal it can be. I mean, if you think that this Valentine's season caused a lot of heartbreaks 💔, then you have probably not been around the Job Market for a while. Jokes aside, we have some great news 😃 for you that not even chocolate 🍫 can beat. Built by James Kariuki, one of our community members, we are proud to showcase one of his latest products, Flext. Whether you want to work remotely, on-site, or with a flexible schedule, we connect you to verified, high-paying jobs in tech, marketing, finance, writing, and more.

What makes Flext awesome? Check these out:

✅ No more low offers – Only legit, high-paying jobs.

✅ Work your way – Full-time, part-time, freelance, or remote.

✅ Smart job matching – Find roles that fit your skills perfectly.

✅ One-tap apply – No complicated applications.

Seamless Camera and Media Access on Android 14+ and Legacy Versions 📷​

If you have been following Android's evolution [as you should 🤨], then you know that Permissions are central to each iteration of the popular OS. With the introduction of Runtime Permission Handling in Marshmallow ⬜️, Android has been rapidly adjusting how these Permisisons are provided. To agree with this, Valentine Rutto wrote this article 🗒️ that talks about Seamless Camera and Media Access on Android 14+ and Legacy Versions. In her words, "Android 13+ and later versions introduced significant changes in how apps access media files. The adoption of granular permissions requires app updates to ensure proper functionality. This post provides a code overview for capturing an image, saving it to storage, and retrieving it on devices running Android 13+, 14+ as well as older versions."...

Call For Advisors 🗣️​

Are you a Product & Engineering professional? ⚙️

Have over 6️⃣ years of experience?

Looking for an opportunity to give back? 🤗

Partnerships for Good is in on a mission to enable motivated youth to thrive as Africa’s next leaders...

Get matched with a student who is keen to learn more about your profession for 1-on-1 mentoring sessions...

The students are in their last semesters of their diploma/certificate in ICT or Computing at either:

• Technical Vocation Education and Training institution or
• Community Based Organisation

Your commitment as an advisor in the 4-week program will be facilitating 1 hour sessions per week as well as some take home assignments...

Apply Now

We are accepting applications on a rolling basis. Visit our LinkedIn page for more info or email us at info@pfgafrica.org

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst. 😬 Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members? 🤯 Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for? 😳 Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until March 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one. 😃 As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that? 🤓 Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in March. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something... 😉

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE
• Benard Mathu
• Sam Ngigi

3. The Organising Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet
• Victor Kirui

4. Meetup Host​

• Daystar University

5. Sponsors and Partners​

• Snapp Mobile

6. Featured​

• James Kariuki
• Valentine Rutto
• Partnerships for Good

7. Our Community Members​

• Our Community Members [Android254]
• Our Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcome & Hello! 🫂​

Can you hear that? 👂 The sound of a new beginning? We hope you can for we certainly are glad to be back. Happy New Year 2025, Android Engineers. 👋 How are you? Are you ready to kickstart yet another year filled with nothing but the code? Worry not, for this newsletter summarises all that the first meetup of this year sought to promise the attendees. Spoiler alert: They were promised the good stuff...

This is Episode #23 of The Kotlin Kenya Monthly Newsletter... ✍️

The Panel Discussion 👥​

Moderated by Emmanuel Muturia™, we had a Panel Discussion talking about Job Hunting and Open Source in 2025. We are fully aware of the difficulties of Job Hunting this season and because of that, we sought to discuss the strategies that our attendees could take advantage of to get hired and drive those German Machines to our future meetups. 🚗 Jokes aside, we were joined by Ben Salcie and Kenneth Murerwa who shared their insights on topics such as Upskilling, Interview Preparation, and even Career Progression as a Junior Android Engineer...

The Feedback Session 💬​

We value our community members. 😉 We value them so much, that we held the usual Feedback Session where they got to tell us what worked and did not work last year and most importantly, what they wanted to see this year.

Do you have any feedback, suggestions, complaints, or anything nice to tell us? Waste no time and click me... 👍

HarmonyOS 📱​

If you thought that Android and iOS were the only operating systems for Mobile, then how wrong you are. 😱 You would be forgiven, though, for we were introduced to HarmonyOS, an operating system made in China not just for Mobile but for pretty much any device. All the way from Europe, Jasper Morgan, the CEO of Snapp Mobile, gave a thorough talk on HarmonyOS and how to build apps for it. 💻 It is safe to say that despite the meetup being Kotlin-first the attendees were at the very least curious about this new innovation and wondered how they could get involved... 🤔

Announcement 📣​

Are you a Product & Engineering professional? ⚙️

Have over 6️⃣ years of experience?

Looking for an opportunity to give back? 🤗

Partnerships for Good is in on a mission to enable motivated youth to thrive as Africa’s next leaders...

Get matched with a student who is keen to learn more about your profession for 1-on-1 mentoring sessions...

The students are in their last semesters of their diploma/certificate in ICT or Computing at either:

• Technical Vocation Education and Training institution or
• Community Based Organisation

Your commitment as an advisor in the 4-week program will be facilitating 1 hour sessions per week as well as some take home assignments...

Apply Now

We are accepting applications on a rolling basis. Visit our LinkedIn page for more info or email us at info@pfgafrica.org

Feature of The Month 🙌​

Would it not be great if coding was more...fun? 🤔 Well, more like a game than actual work? 😮‍💨 Sounds cool, right? Do you know what is cooler than that? The game actually exists. 😲 Let us explain:

"Over the holiday season, I had the privilege of leading a team of two amazing android engineers to turn a fun idea into reality: a GitHub-based game that makes contributing to open source both competitive and rewarding. After countless hours of brainstorming, coding, and testing, we shipped the MVP for Streeek!

🎯 Key Highlights:

• In just one day, the app garnered 30 downloads, thanks to sharing it with friends and colleagues who were equally excited about the concept.
• By establishing a clear development and release process, we were able to iterate faster, resolve blockers efficiently, and launch the MVP within a tight timeline.

🌟 Streeek is all about gamifying GitHub contributions to keep developers motivated while having fun. Check it out and join the streak:

🔗 GitHub: https://lnkd.in/dr8sy7Q2

📱 Play Store: https://lnkd.in/dqtRyU76

💡 More insights on the development process, team collaboration, and lessons learned will be coming soon in a series of articles.

Stay tuned!" ~ The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE

Before You Go 🏃‍♂️​

Hey pssst. 😬 Are you interested in giving a presentation in our upcoming meetups? Do you have what it takes to blow the minds of our esteemed community members? 🤯 Or, do you have that project that you cannot wait to show off to our attendees? Well then, what are you waiting for? 😳 Click me and submit your presentation, will ya?

Until February 🫂​

As this meetup comes to a close, we are excited to plan for the next one. 😃 As our community members, we want you to gain the most value from your membership. What better way to do that than getting involved? How can you do that? 🤓 Well, submitting your presentations, telling a friend to tell a friend, and even attending the meetups are more than enough to start you off. We look forward to seeing you in February. Until then, keep coding and do not forget to touch grasss or something... 😉

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Ben Salcie
• Kenneth Murerwa
• Jasper Morgan

3. The New Team​

• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Michelle Wainaina
• Jeremiah Gitau
• Theophilus Kibet

4. Meetup Host and Sponsor​

• Daystar University

5. Newsletter Sponsors​

• Android254
• Kotlin Kenya

6. Featured​

• The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE

7. Our Community Members​

• Our Community Members [Android254]
• Our Community Members [Kotlin Kenya]

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcome & Hello! 🫂​

When the cat is away, the mice will play. Similarly, when the sun is out, the developers will shine as we near the end of the year. You would think that we were slowing down but you would probably be forgiven as we are switching gears (Tech Bros, please relax). We know that you are curious to know what has been happening this month and that is where we come in as Problem-Solvng is our middle name. This is Episode #22 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter:

Overcoming The MockK Struggle 🧪​

The first session vibrantly kicked off with Rachel Murabula using the analogy of car parts to introduce MockK as a Testing Library. She took the audience through the steps needed to write tests using MockK by use of a whiteboard in a way that would make you think that it was a classic DSA Session...

Principles for Effective Session Delivery 📣​

Without wasting any time, Mambo Bryan engaged the audience and rightfully so because he educated the members on how to deliver world-class sessions. Using the example of everybody's favourite topic (Kotlin Coroutines), he gave a step-by-step demonstration of how to conduct sessions like an expert (If you know you know). In addition, a lengthy discussion was made and the following were the key takeaways that we hope you will go and research on:

• Kotlin Flows and Suspending Functions (Find out how their implementations in Room were changed in Room 3.x)...
• Concurrency and Parallelism...

DroidCon Kenya 2024 🎟️​

Have you still not bought your tickets to the most exciting annual event in the history of Android in Kenya? 🤦‍♂️ If we said that we had more goodies (and that is a big "If") for the first few buyers then would that motivate you to head over to droidcon.co.ke and get your tickets? There you go then, you sneaky developers. 😏 Head over to droidcon.co.ke and grab your tickets as you never know what awaits you from the 6th to the 8th of November this year... 🙃

Feature of The Month 🙌​

Many developers know how to survive screen rotations using ViewModel or rememberSaveable, but the bigger questions remain: Why does state get lost in the first place? Why is ViewModel often the go-to solution, and is it the only one? What about other scenarios, like process death or user-initiated closures?

Unlike desktop or web environments, Android apps run on a wide range of devices with different hardware capabilities, varying screen sizes, and limited resources like memory and battery. Moreover, the Android operating system is designed to be highly dynamic, frequently creating and destroying activities and fragments to optimize resource usage and preserve battery life. This means that your app's state can be lost or reset at almost any time if not managed properly.

In this first release of Android Hot and Ready, Preserving Your Android App State, we share insights and practical strategies for managing state in your Android apps. From handling configuration changes to preparing for process death, we've covered a range of solutions to keep your app’s state alive and ensure a great user experience.

Before You Go... 🏃‍♂️​

Do you want to have your product (app, article, video, etc) featured in the next episode? Worry not for all you need to do is reach out to us at either Android254 or Kotlin Kenya and include the details of your product. What are you waiting for? Let us get to work, shall we?

Until October 🫂​

It is at this point that we acknowledge our new beginnings and pledge 🤚 to have a transformative 2024. We have journeyed, are journeying, and will still journey with you. Gears are about to be shifted (Tech Bros please calm down) in your favour. If you would like to level up your career in Android, then attending the monthly meetups, building cool stuff in public, and interacting with community members should be a part of your routine. We cannot wait to hear and share your stories. See you in October! 👋

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Rachel Murabula
• Mambo Bryan, The Dishwasher

3. Meetup Host and Sponsor​

• Daystar University

4. Newsletter Sponsors​

• Android254
• Kotlin Kenya
• KotlinBits

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcome & Hello! 🫂​

Whoa whoa relax guys. We know that you dearly missed us and we missed you too. Winter Season may have separated us but we are here yet again to occupy your professional lives and help you achieve your goals. Do we even need to tell you how this month is different from the rest? Did you not see our poster? Well, join us in this episode as we uncover what Android254 and Kotlin Kenya have been up to this month. This is Episode #21 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter!

The Kotlin Bits Challenge 🧠​

To supercharge our attendees' problem-solving skills, we had them attempt an easy LeetCode problem. If you are up for it, feel free to submit your solution to us and who knows, you just might win a prize...

Asynchronous Programming with Coroutines 🌀​

Joining us from the city of Abuja, Michael Obi took the stage (well, screen as it was virtual but you get the idea) and made the audience understand why Asynchronous Programming was important in the first place. Using screenshots from a language that we shall not name, he demonstrated different use cases for Threads within the context (pun intended) of expensive tasks...

The Open Bar Session 💬​

To conclude the meetup, we had an Open Bar session that was kickstarted by Emmanuel Muturia™ who showed off ArtMaker to the audience and encouraged them to check it out and learn more about the Canvas API in Jetpack Compose. Next, Samuel Juma demonstrated SuperStocks which is a compose multiplatform project that gets Realtime data for the top 10 companies around the world, by market capitalization and was designed to work on Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP), and is of course the new kid in the block of Android App Development (AAD). This was followed by Oscar Karuga who made a comeback by introducing the community members to FeynmanAI which is a powerful command-line tool that leverages the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) model to interact with local documents. Whether you want to query your documents for specific information or quiz yourself on the contents, FeynmanAi offers an intuitive interface to get answers and enhance your understanding.. Lastly, the attendees were educated on Paystack as a FinTech product and did you know that they were recently acquired by Stripe?

DroidCon Kenya 2024 🎟️​

Have you still not bought your tickets to the most exciting annual event in the history of Android in Kenya? 🤦‍♂️ If we said that we had more goodies (and that is a big "If") for the first few buyers then would that motivate you to head over to droidcon.co.ke and get your tickets? There you go then, you sneaky developers. 😏 Head over to droidcon.co.ke and grab your tickets as you never know what awaits you from the 6th to the 8th of November this year... 🙃

The Newset GDE in Town 🕺​

If you have been around for a while, then you will understand that certain things were just a matter of time. What we are about to announce is certainly at the top of the list. Without wasting any time, join us in congratulating The Chief Senior Dishwasher in being officially recognised by Google as a Google Developer Expert (GDE) for Android! Thus, to mark the initiation complete, we officially declare him as The Chief Senior Dishwasher, GDE...

Feature of The Month 🙌​

ArtMaker 🎨​

Are you interested in learning more about the Canvas API and Custom Drawing in Jetpack Compose? Would you like to unlock the Picasso (not the library) in you programmatically? Look no further as we would like to present to you ArtMaker by Ferdinand Bada, Caleb Langat, and Emmanuel Muturia™. ArtMaker is a flexible and customisable library that allows users to draw anything they want on screen and has been built fully with Jetpack Compose. It allows drawing through the Canvas, sharing the drawn Bitmap, or programmatically exposing the Bitmap for use in the calling application...

Before You Go... 🏃‍♂️​

Do you want to have your product (app, article, video, etc) featured in the next episode? Worry not for all you need to do is reach out to us at either Android254 or Kotlin Kenya and include the details of your product. What are you waiting for? Let us get to work, shall we?

Until September 🫂​

It is at this point that we acknowledge our new beginnings and pledge 🤚 to have a transformative 2024. We have journeyed, are journeying, and will still journey with you. Gears are about to be shifted (Tech Bros please calm down) in your favour. If you would like to level up your career in Android, then attending the monthly meetups, building cool stuff in public, and interacting with community members should be a part of your routine. We cannot wait to hear and share your stories. See you in September! 👋

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Michael Obi

3. The KotlinBits Challenge​

• Annie Kobia

4. Announcements​

• The Droidette

5. The Open Bar Session​

• Ferdinand Bada
• Caleb Langat
• Emmanuel Muturia™
• Samuel Juma
• Oscar Karuga

6. Meetup Host and Sponsor​

• Paystack

7. Newsletter Sponsors​

• Android254
• Kotlin Kenya
• KotlinBits