Problem
Programming education and tooling in Somali-speaking regions was limited by the lack of a native-language programming environment. Learning to code meant learning English first, creating an extra barrier for students and aspiring developers.
14+Contributors
2Releases
100%Open source
RustBuilt with
“We made the dream of a Somali programming language a reality.”
Solution
We designed and built Soplang — a compiled programming language with Somali keywords and error messages, a Cranelift-based JIT pipeline, and an AOT backend for standalone binaries. The language is open-source and community-driven, with a growing standard library and tooling.
Outcome
Soplang has become a flagship project for the Somali tech ecosystem, with multiple contributors and growing adoption in education and experimentation. It demonstrates that programming can be accessible in any language and has sparked conversations about localization in developer tools worldwide.
Tech & tools
- Rust
- Cranelift
- Compiler
- JIT
- AOT