Hey there! I'm Aliou, and I want to share my journey with you – from a kid who loved playing Grand Theft Auto in Guinea to a software developer building solutions for businesses around the world.
How It All Started
Remember the days when having a computer meant mostly watching movies and playing games? That was me back in 2013, fresh out of high school in Guinea. I was obsessed with Grand Theft Auto and Fast and Furious, spending countless hours gaming. Little did I know these games would spark my interest in programming.
The funny thing is, I had no idea what programming really was. I didn't know any programmers, and the internet was a luxury we couldn't rely on. But I was determined to figure out how to make games like the ones I loved playing. I even tried my hand at creating a car game with Unity during my student days – let's just say Fast and Furious wasn't exactly shaking in their boots.
My savior? A website called "site du zero" (now OpenClassrooms). If you grew up in a French-speaking country at that time and tried to learn programming, you're probably nodding your head right now! They let you download PDF courses, which was perfect because our electricity situation was... interesting. We'd get power from 6 PM to midnight one day, then midnight to 6 AM the next – and sometimes nothing at all.
So I got creative. I'd read programming tutorials on my computer when we had power, take detailed notes in my notebook, and then practice writing code by hand when the electricity was out. Talk about extreme programming 😀! Starting with C, then HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript. Looking back, those power cuts might have been a blessing in disguise – they taught me patience and dedication.
Building Something of My Own
In 2017, I took a leap and started Kaheretech (now known as Kaherecode). While my game development dreams were on hold, I found something even better – helping other developers learn and grow. Built it using Symfony 2.8 (yes, 2.8 – we've come a long way!), and to my surprise, developers from Guinea, Senegal, and even France started using it. Today, it gets over 10,000 visitors monthly, which still amazes me.
I tried expanding it into in-person workshops back in Guinea, but sometimes timing isn't right, and that's okay. Not every idea works out, and that's part of the journey. Plus, it taught me an important lesson in software development: validate your market before building the product!
Growing as a Developer
My first "real" job came in 2019 at Qualshore. Suddenly, I was a Full Stack Developer working with Angular and Symfony. Then came Kewel and Site BV, where I really got to dive deep into building larger systems. Each role taught me something new about creating software that people actually use. From the backend to the frontend, I learned a lot about how to build scalable and maintainable applications.
Now, I'm part of the team at Cauridor, where we're working on something exciting – building payment systems that connect businesses across Africa. It's amazing to see how far I've come from those days of writing code in notebooks during power cuts.
What I'm Building Now
These days, I'm working on ScaniFood – a project that lets restaurant owners create digital menus with QR codes. It's my way of combining everything I've learned to solve a real problem for real businesses.
Looking Ahead
You know what keeps me excited? The thought that every line of code could make someone's life a little better. Whether it's helping a restaurant owner modernize their menu or making it easier for businesses to handle payments, that's what gets me up in the morning.
I'm still that kid who gets excited about building things, just with better tools and a bit more experience now. The journey's been wild, and I can't wait to see what's next.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story! Whether you're a fellow developer, just starting your coding journey, or someone looking to work together, I'd love to connect. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, or just drop me a line at hello@alioukahere.dev. I'm always happy to chat and learn from you!