Questions people ask before they visit.

Twelve weeks, in two halves, then Demo Day.

• Weeks 1 to 6: twelve numbered sessions. Wednesdays 3pm to 9pm in person at 124 Manyani East Road, Saturdays 2pm to 4pm online. Each session is built around one hard question and ends with something you can show.
• Weeks 7 to 12: building with your lead mentor.
• Demo Day: you pitch in front of investors and partners, judged on numbers.

It is not full time. Plan for 15 to 25 hours a week, 20 recommended, and you declare your hours when you apply. It is not fully remote either: Wednesdays are in person and attendance is tracked. Session dates for the current cohort are on the Residency site.

Pressure, a room full of founders who will not let you make excuses, and operators who work on your live material in a hot seat rather than from a slide deck.

• Spark founders leave with a live product, fifty documented customer interviews and five paying or contractually committed customers.
• Scale founders leave with at least two core metrics measurably improved and a growth model built on tested inputs.
• Every founder leaves with a rehearsed three-minute Demo Day pitch and a 90-day roadmap.
• Founders who clear the fundability bar get at least three warm investor or partner introductions within 72 hours.

After that: the alumni network, monthly metrics check-ins for six months, quarterly Alumni Demo Nights at Hackhouse and specialist office-hour credits.

Spark is for pre-revenue founders going from an idea to five paying customers. It is self-serve: apply, pay, and you are in.

Scale is for founders with a working business whose growth has plateaued or whose unit economics are unclear. It is interview-led, and you are expected to share real numbers with your mentors.

The application is one form, four steps, about two minutes. There is no video. Your answers assign your track and you can switch. Scale adds an interview, and you pay only after an offer. Start on the Residency site.

• Spark: KES 25,000 for the full twelve weeks.
• Scale: KES 35,000 for the full twelve weeks.
• Both tracks offer a 50/50 split: half when you join, the balance by the midpoint at the end of week 6.
• Payment is by M-Pesa or card.
• No equity. You pay a flat fee and keep all of your company.

The deposit holds your place and is not refunded once you accept an offer. If Hackhouse cancels a cohort you paid for, everything is refunded within 14 days or moved to the next Gen. The full refund, deferral and attendance rules are on the Residency policies page.

Founders and builders ready to work on their business every week.

• Spark starts at the idea stage: nobody has to have paid you yet, and there is no requirement for a product or traction.
• Scale is for a working business with real numbers.
• Co-founders share one place. At least one of you attends each session and the worksheet is one per startup. You do not need a co-founder to apply.
• You must be at least 18.
• Students and recent graduates can apply if they can commit the hours. Red Bull Basement is the programme built for student entrepreneurs, and the community and events are open to everyone.

Wednesday sessions are in person in Nairobi and attendance is tracked, so you need to be in Nairobi on Wednesdays for the twelve weeks. Everything else is online. There are no cohorts outside Nairobi.

Founders from anywhere in East Africa and beyond are welcome on that basis. Arriving more than 20 minutes late, or leaving before the last third, counts as a miss.

You demo anyway. A red week on the scorecard is a conversation with your lead mentor, not a hiding place.

• Two red weeks in a row trigger a reset: narrowed scope, extra support.
• Three, and the seat is forfeited with an invitation to reapply next cohort.
• If a build genuinely needs more room, you can declare a two-week deep sprint, at most twice per programme, with your lead mentor's approval.
• To graduate you attend at least nine of the twelve sessions, submit the session worksheet every week and present at Demo Day.
• You can defer once, to the very next Gen, if you ask in writing before week 2 begins.

The full rules are on the Residency policies page.

The next cohort is HH Gen 27.1 and it starts in January 2027. Applications are open now. The exact dates, and whether applications are still open, are always on the Residency site.

To apply: pick your track, answer the four steps and, for Spark, pay to confirm your place. There is no separate waitlist. When a cohort is not taking applications the Residency site says so, and following Hackhouse on the community platform gets you an email when the next one opens.

• Your application is saved the moment you submit it.
• Payment confirmation and your receipt arrive by email.
• Scale applicants are invited to an interview and pay only after an offer.
• An offer without a payment lapses on the date in the offer email, and the place goes to the next founder.
• Your portal login arrives closer to kickoff.

If you are not selected, you can reapply to the next cohort.

Hackhouse runs cybersecurity training through AfricaHackon Academy. AfricaHackon, Africa's cybersecurity community, is co-directed by our co-founder Dr Bright Gameli Mawudor.

Claude Community Kenya, a home for Kenyan builders exploring what is possible with Claude and AI, also meets at Hackhouse. Follow it on the community platform.

Yes. We design and deliver programmes for NGOs, corporates, embassies and schools using our space, our network and our operations, and we take sponsorship for cohorts and events.

We shape the programme with you, recruit the founders, run every session and report back with numbers. Start on the Partner with us page. We reply within three working days.

Yes, and we encourage it. Book a free tour on the contact page. Tours run Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, take about 45 minutes and carry no obligation. You get an email straight away and the team confirms a time with you.

The tour is where we talk through what you are building and which membership or programme fits. For anything else, write to info@hackhouseafrica.com and we reply within one working day.

• Daily Desk: KES 1,000 for the day.
• Hot Desk: KES 10,000 a month, with meeting room credits.
• Dedicated Desk: KES 16,000 a month, with your own desk and locker, unlimited meeting rooms and 24/7 access.
• Team Suites: private offices at a custom price.

Every plan gets always-on internet with power backup, four bookable meeting rooms with video call setups, an on-site café and lounge, printing, and full generator and UPS protection. Monthly plans add a business mailing address and parcel receipt. The full comparison is on the coworking page.

Pay KES 1,000 online by M-Pesa or card on the day pass page and you get a pass code by email. Reception has your name and your code, nothing to print. You can book up to 30 days ahead.

It gives you any open desk, internet with power backup, the café and the lounge for the day. If you come often, a Hot Desk works out cheaper from the tenth visit.

Yes. The event hall seats up to 140. Every booking includes a 4m by 2m LED screen, a PA system with wireless microphones, fibre internet, flexible seating, on-site parking with a security guard and a water station. Catering, bar service and photo and video are optional add-ons booked directly with our in-house teams.

Submit a booking request on the Book Space page. The team checks availability and sends pricing and the venue contract. Dates are confirmed once the contract is signed and payment is received.

No. Hackhouse is a home for builders: a coworking space, a set of programmes and a community. There are no admissions, no boarding and no school fees. The only prices are the coworking plans and the programme fees on the Residency site.

• The community is open to anyone: events, meetups, founder stories and the community platform.
• Coworking is a desk or office in the building on a daily or monthly plan. See the coworking page.
• The Residency is the 12-week founder programme with a fee and a Demo Day. See the Residency site.
• The Yard Socials is an event series run by The MLO Club, one of the communities that hosts at Hackhouse. Find it on the events calendar.

Joining the community is free.

• Follow Hackhouse on the community platform and you get an email whenever something is on.
• Come to an event. Most are in person at the house. See the calendar.
• Want a desk? Book a tour or buy a day pass.
• Want the Residency? Apply on the Residency site.
• Working from the house already? Add your startup to the Builders roster.

The full calendar, with RSVP and tickets on each event page, is at community.hackhouse.africa/events. We also post on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

• RSVP to free events or buy tickets as a guest with just a name and email.
• Paid tickets go through Paystack by M-Pesa or card. Your ticket arrives by email with a QR code to show at the door.
• Most events are in person at 124 Manyani East Road.
• Organisers set a ticket cap per order, and when an event is sold out the event page says so.

Everything that is running is on the events calendar, hosted by Hackhouse or by the communities that meet here, including Claude Community Kenya, AfricaHackon, Mctaba Connect and Code, The MLO Club and The Wealth Circle. Recent Hackhouse events include LinkedIn Local Nairobi, The Startup Bar and Demo Day.

Events at Hackhouse may be photographed, filmed or live-streamed, and the in-house photo and video team offers full recordings to organisers who book them.

Demo Day closes every Residency cohort. The date for the current cohort is on the Residency site, and it appears on the events calendar once it is set.

Through the Residency. Demo Day is in front of investors and partners, judged on numbers, and founders who clear the fundability bar get at least three warm introductions within 72 hours. See the Residency site.

Outside the Residency, come to events and meet people in the room, follow the Funding Opportunities page on the community platform, and read the knowledge base, which covers fundraising, product, growth, team building, legal and finance.

Not as a matching service. The people you are looking for are in the building and at the events, and the Builders roster shows who is here and who is hiring.

Mentorship comes with the Residency: a lead mentor, guest operators who work your live material, and one-to-ones.

Partnerships and sponsorship start on the Partner with us page, or write to partnerships@hackhouseafrica.com. Any community can host its own event at the house through the Book Space page.

Payments on the donate page are processed by Paystack, by M-Pesa or card, and Hackhouse never sees your card details. You can donate from outside Kenya by card. M-Pesa is for Kenyan numbers.

Yes. We reply within one working day.

• Email info@hackhouseafrica.com.
• Call or WhatsApp +254 722 717 770.
• Partnerships: partnerships@hackhouseafrica.com.
• Visit 124 Manyani East Road, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

If a link in a bio does not open: hackhouse.africa for everything, residency.hackhouse.africa to apply, community.hackhouse.africa for events.