Vibe Coding, Hackathons, and Building Expo Ghana Community

How We Started

Being part of the Google Developer Group (GDG) Accra was an incredible experience. It's the biggest and most popular developer community here in Accra, Ghana. However, since it's strictly a Google-related group, sharing React Native content was a challenge. As someone passionate about JavaScript, React Native, and Expo, I wanted a space where developers could freely explore these technologies.

I believed that most developers start their journey with JavaScript before transitioning to different stacks, including Flutter and other mobile frameworks. So, I decided to start my own community — Expo Ghana Community — with the goal of bringing React Native developers together, learning and collaborating on open-source projects.

The Early Days

We began with open-source projects, building UI components, hosting Sunday evening WhatsApp group calls to discuss trending topics, and sharing Expo-related resources. The journey wasn't easy, but the love for community building kept pushing me forward.

Planning our first event was tough, but securing a venue for free was a major win. I was so excited that I decided to fund the event entirely myself. I brought my friend Osei on board to help with planning, and we reached out to the Expo team. While they were excited about what we were doing, they couldn't provide support at the time as they were wrapping up the year. Regardless, I appreciated their response.

We also wrote numerous emails to potential sponsors and partners, and we reached out to senior engineers and React Native YouTubers to join us as speakers. Simon Grimm from Galaxies.dev came on board, which was a huge boost. I also reached out to Vadim from NotJust.dev — he was excited but busy. My main target was Evan Bacon, but unfortunately, I didn't get a response.

The First Event and the Future

Despite the challenges, our first community event was a success. The turnout and enthusiasm showed that the Expo Ghana Community was filling a gap. Now, with over 700 members, we are planning bigger things!

Vibe Coding and Pizza Hackathon

Our first event of the year, the Vibe Coding and Pizza Hackathon, is designed to bring community members together to collaborate on Expo projects, experiment with AI-assisted coding using tools like Bolt.new, and most importantly — bond over pizza. We've reached out to Expo and Bolt for support, and we're excited about what's ahead.

The ultimate vision is to make our annual Expo Ghana Community event in November even bigger. This year, we're setting our sights on the Accra International Conference Center as our venue and working on getting Expo engineers or team members to fly down to Ghana to be part of it.

Expo Community Worldwide Initiative

Additionally, I'd love to see Expo establish official developer communities worldwide, just like Google Developer Groups. I truly believe that the adoption of Expo can grow exponentially if communities like ours are supported at a global level.

Join Us!

If you're passionate about JavaScript, React Native, and building with Expo, this is your community. Join us for our upcoming events, contribute to our open-source projects, and let's build something amazing together!