Written by Ileriayo Adebiyi
CNCF Lagos is currently the largest Cloud Native Community in Africa.
But how did we get here? Read on.
(This is not just a story about software engineering)
Passion – You would do this without pay.
Six years after Kubernetes was born, I fell in love with it. As I learned more about this technology, I wanted to share that knowledge with others. Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People mentions “Think Win-Win” as Habit 4. Teaching is a win-win – a way to impact others and to reinforce what I have learned.
“I’m working on something to help people who are looking to start their journey in Kubernetes and need some guidance. Let me know if you’re interested.”
Those were the words I posted on Twitter on Feb 9, 2022. A few people applied for the program, and they would go on to become my first set of students. After this first cohort, I knew it would be harder to scale the impact. So long as it relied on my presence if it would continue to be successful, I must always be available. With several other responsibilities on my plate, it did not take long to know that a different strategy ought to be employed.
Collaboration – If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.
In 2023, I began to look out for people who shared the same motivation, with whom I could bring my ideas. I learned about the Cloud Native Community Groups (CNCGs) scattered all over the world, and I found one of them carried the name of my community. The Lagos group had about 40 members but seemed inactive. There was yet to be any real activity, so I reached out to the organizers. Several weeks passed, and I was made a co-organizer. The group needed some life and I brought my passion and ideas to the fore, but I soon realized that I needed more than that to host an in-person meetup. Somebody needed to act.
Courage – You won’t fail if you don’t act, but true failure is not acting.
I used my relationship to secure a venue and made a Call for Speakers. Some kind people offered to help. We negotiated with food vendors. After the Maiden meetup in December 2023, we added over 100 new members. More people volunteered and we had more meetups the next year. By the end of 2024, we grew to over 250 members.
Today we have 317 members and have helped start other community groups outside of Lagos.
Sometimes, we wish we had some opportunities. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. I believe that you can create your own opportunities. Start (small) and you’ll be surprised how people will join you, and when the time comes, be open to collaborate for scale.
Organize yourself and take bold steps today.
You can join the community group via this link: https://community.cncf.io/lagos
