# How to get a software developer job in Kenya

> Who hires software developers in Kenya, the skills and portfolio that get you shortlisted, how technical interviews work, and how to land your first developer job.

Source: https://monicahr.com/guides/software-developer-jobs-kenya/
Published by Monica (monicahr.com), written by The Monica team, updated 2026-11-05. Topic: ICT and tech, Kenya.

Kenya has one of the most active tech job markets in Africa. Banks, telcos, fintechs, start-ups, NGOs, software houses and government agencies all hire developers, and more of them hire Kenyans for remote roles abroad. Competition is real, though: employers see many CVs that list the same languages. This guide shows what actually gets you hired.

## Who hires software developers in Kenya?

- **Banks, SACCOs and fintechs**, for core banking, mobile money, payments and lending products.
- **Telcos and their partners**, for mobile services, USSD and APIs.
- **Start-ups** in fintech, logistics, agritech, health and e-commerce.
- **Software houses and agencies** that build for clients in Kenya and abroad.
- **NGOs, research bodies and government**, for data systems, portals and digital services.
- **Foreign companies hiring remotely.** Read our guide to [finding remote jobs from Kenya](https://monicahr.com/guides/remote-jobs-from-kenya/).

## Which skills do Kenyan employers ask for?

Read twenty adverts and the pattern is clear. Most want strength in one main stack rather than a little of everything: for example Python with Django or FastAPI, JavaScript or TypeScript with React and Node, Java or Kotlin, PHP with Laravel, or Flutter for mobile. Around that they expect SQL and a relational database, Git, REST APIs, testing, and basic cloud and Linux skills. Payments work, especially M-Pesa integrations, is a real advantage locally.

## Do you need a degree?

Many employers ask for a degree in computer science or a related field, especially banks, government and large companies. Start-ups and software houses care more about what you can build. If you do not have a degree, a strong portfolio, bootcamp training and real projects can still get you hired, but expect larger employers to filter on it.

## What should your portfolio show?

- Two or three real, finished projects, live where possible, not ten half-finished tutorials.
- Clean code on GitHub with a README that says what the project does, how to run it and what you learned.
- At least one project that solves a Kenyan problem, such as M-Pesa payments, SMS, or county data.
- Tests, sensible commits and a deployed version. These separate developers from tutorial followers.

## How do technical interviews work?

Most follow the same steps: a CV screen, a short call, a take-home task or live coding exercise, then a technical interview where you explain your choices, and finally a culture or manager interview. Practise explaining your code out loud. Our guide to [software developer interview questions](https://monicahr.com/guides/software-developer-interview-questions-kenya/) covers the common questions.

## How do you land your first developer job?

- Apply for internships, graduate trainee and junior roles. Many companies hire juniors through these.
- Contribute to open source, or build tools people around you actually use.
- Go to local meetups and tech events; many roles are filled through referrals.
- Tailor your CV to each advert. Our guide to [writing a tech CV](https://monicahr.com/guides/tech-cv-kenya/) shows how, and the free [CV checker](https://monicahr.com/cv-checker/) scores it against the advert.

Browse [software developer jobs in Kenya](https://monicahr.com/jobs/roles/software-developers/), updated every day.