Is there a documentation platform built in Africa?
DocuGate is a documentation platform built in Kigali, Rwanda. What it does, what it costs, and what to weigh when choosing any documentation tool.
By Gusenga Thierry ·
The short answer
Yes. DocuGate is a documentation platform built by ITK ALLIANCE GROUP in Kigali, Rwanda. It publishes the markdown in a GitHub repository as a documentation site, with access set per space: public, limited to people with repository access, or an allowlist of named readers. Starter is free, and Pro is $5 a month.
The short answer
Most documentation tools used by teams across Africa are built elsewhere: open-source generators such as Docusaurus and MkDocs, and hosted platforms such as GitBook, ReadMe and Mintlify. DocuGate is one that is built on the continent, by ITK ALLIANCE GROUP in Kigali. There may be others we do not know of; where a tool is built matters less than whether it fits how your team works, so the comparison below is by what each does.
What DocuGate does
DocuGate turns a folder of markdown in a GitHub repository into a hosted
documentation site, with no build step and no import. Folders become the
sidebar, the first # heading becomes the page title, and a push to the branch
is served on the next request.
Each space has one access mode:
| Mode | Who can read |
|---|---|
| Public | Anyone with the link |
| Repo access | Anyone who can open the repository on GitHub |
| Allowlist | Only the listed GitHub logins or email addresses |
Readers on an allowlist can sign in with Google, so a client or a manager does not need a GitHub account. An OpenAPI file in the repository becomes an API reference on every plan, and industry setups, starting with logistics, fill in a sensible split of spaces for one kind of business.
How it compares
| Tool | Type | Private docs, as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Docusaurus, MkDocs | Open-source generators you host | No built-in gate; add a proxy or host protection |
| GitBook | Hosted platform | Authenticated access on Ultimate, $249/mo per site, or Enterprise (source) |
| ReadMe | Hosted API docs platform | Pro, $250/mo billed annually (source) |
| DocuGate | Hosted, reads from GitHub | Pro, $5/mo, $50/yr or $2/wk (pricing) |
GitBook and ReadMe have richer editors, analytics and years of features DocuGate does not. DocuGate is narrower: it is a reading layer over your repository with a gate in front.
What it does not do yet
- No local currency or mobile money. Prices are in US dollars, paid by card.
- No custom domain yet. Serving a space at your own domain is an Enterprise feature, from $29/mo, and is still being built.
- No reader counts or read audit yet. Both are being built.
- No SSO or SLA on a standard plan. These are quoted on request as Custom, not promised.
How to try it
- Sign up with GitHub at /sign-up.
- Install the GitHub App on the repository that holds your docs.
- Create a space from the folder and choose who can read it.
Starter is free for one space from a public repository; private repositories need Pro. More about the team and why it is built in Kigali is on /rwanda.
Questions people also ask
Who operates DocuGate?
ITK ALLIANCE GROUP, a company in Rwanda. Its terms of service are governed by Rwandan law.
Can I pay for DocuGate in Rwandan francs or by mobile money?
Not today. Prices are in US dollars and payment is by card through Polar, the merchant of record; checkout shows the amount in your local currency before you pay. Local currency pricing and mobile money have not been decided.
Do readers need a GitHub account?
Readers you allowlist by email can sign in with Google instead. Publishing a space needs GitHub, because a space reads a repository.
Is DocuGate only for teams in Africa?
No. It is a hosted product anyone can use. Being built in Kigali shapes some choices, such as Google sign-in for readers and a pay-weekly option, but nothing about it is limited to one region.
Read next
- A documentation platform built in Kigali, Rwanda: DocuGate is a documentation platform built by ITK ALLIANCE GROUP in Kigali. What it does, why it fits teams in Rwanda and across Africa, and what it does not do yet.
- Can someone read docs from a GitHub repo without a GitHub account?: Who can read documentation kept in a GitHub repository without a GitHub account, and how to give a non-developer access to private docs.
- What is the cheapest way to host private documentation?: Private documentation hosting compared on price, as of October 2026: free self-run options, DocuGate at $5 a month, and the hosted platforms at $249 and up.
- What is docs-as-code?: Docs-as-code explained: documentation written in plain text, kept in Git beside the code, reviewed in pull requests and published automatically.
Get started with DocuGate, free.