East Africa · Global South

African-tailored solutions
for African problems

Sanlab is an independent applied research and social innovation lab. We research deeply, build deployable tools, and partner with communities to drive real societal change.

Partner with us Our story
6
Founding engineers from Kyambogo University
20+
Research domains across technology and energy
4
Core domain clusters driving our research
100%
Open source tools and research outputs
Research
→
Tools
→
Partnership
→
Impact
Research Domains

What we work on

Twenty-plus domains across four interconnected clusters — all grounded in African conditions and built for real-world deployment.

💻

Accessible Technology

Making computing reachable without expensive infrastructure. Designed for learners and communities left out of mainstream technology education.

Block-based programmingScreen-free codingLocal language programmingUnplugged STEMDSL languagesEducation simulations
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Local Manufacturing & Energy

Building and powering things locally. For communities that cannot wait for grid infrastructure or imported solutions to catch up.

Off-grid power solutionsRenewable energiesSupercapacitorsLithium-ion batteriesLocal circuit etchingCNC
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Robotics & Physical Computing

Practical, hands-on engineering that connects theory to physical reality. Real mechanical and software skills for learners and researchers.

ROSRobotics SLAMMazes & Micro MouseRobotics
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Frontier & Emerging Technology

Cutting-edge research translated into tools communities can actually use. We bring the frontier to local contexts — not the other way around.

TinyML — Traditional MLTinyML — Neural NetworkSmall LLMsQuantum computingVR technologyAR technology
The Problem

Two layers of failure —
and one root cause

Africa does not have a shortage of technology. It has a shortage of technology that actually fits.

First order barriers

Systemic obstacles

The visible problems that block access and deployment from the start

  • Lack of affordable devices and hardware
  • Poor or absent internet connectivity
  • Unreliable electricity and power infrastructure
  • Limited and low-quality local data
  • Algorithmic bias from systems not trained on African contexts
  • Languages spoken by millions left unrecognized by mainstream technology
  • High illiteracy rates excluding entire populations
Second order barriers

Human & cultural obstacles

The deeper problems that surface even when access exists

  • Untrained users expected to operate unfamiliar tools
  • Communities excluded from the design process
  • Cultural attitudes determining who technology is seen as being for
  • No knowledge transfer — communities left dependent
  • Resistance when people are treated as recipients, not collaborators
Both layers share the same root cause — solutions that were not designed with African communities in mind, by people who understand the terrain from the inside. Sanlab exists to change that. We do not translate foreign technology and hope it fits. We start from the problem and build toward it.
Our Story

Born from a shared frustration

Sanlab began as a conversation between six graduates from Kyambogo University who shared a frustration — not just with their education, but with the broader reality they saw around them. Promising ideas were everywhere. Students wanted to build electric go-carts, design aircraft, program robots. But the tools, frameworks, and resources available had all been built for other places. Nothing fit quite right.

They came together under the name Engineering Change and began doing what they believed was the real work — not training more graduates, but researching and building technology that actually fits African needs and contexts.

Co-founder Steven Drina Nakibinge gave his name to that vision, and Engineering Change became Sanlab. The mission sharpened into what it is today: African-tailored solutions for African problems.

Today Sanlab is a growing collective of automotive engineers, computer scientists, and software engineers. Membership is open and extensible — the lab grows as more people who share the mission find their way in.

Founded at

Kyambogo University, Uganda — by six engineers frustrated with the gap between education and real-world impact.

Named after

Co-founder Steven Drina Nakibinge, whose vision shaped the organization from Engineering Change into Sanlab.

Geographic focus

Rooted in East Africa with a broader commitment to the Global South. Constraints here shape solutions that work everywhere.

Who we are

Automotive engineers, computer scientists, and software engineers — open membership, united by a shared mission.

How we work

Research that goes all the way

Most research organizations stop at publishing. Every Sanlab cycle ends with something deployable and a partner to deploy it.

Open source commitment

All tools, documentation, and research outputs are freely available. Knowledge built for community benefit stays in community hands. Code is open, hardware designs are shared, research is accessible.

Partnership model

We partner with schools, universities, government ministries, NGOs, makerspaces, and community learning centers. Partners shape what gets built — they are collaborators, not recipients.

Measuring impact

Impact is demonstrated, not claimed. We track communities using our tools, learners reached, tools adopted into curricula, and feedback loops that inform the next research cycle.

Get involved

Built here. Owned here.
Working here.

Partner with us, support our research, or join the collective. African problems need people who understand the terrain.

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