Africa
Koha for Libraries in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Across Africa
Koha is one of the most widely used library systems in African universities and colleges. We install it, host it, support it and train your team, without a server room on campus.
What we hear
The problems libraries here bring us
“Our Koha server sits in a room with unreliable power, and every outage takes the catalog down.”
“The one technician who installed Koha has moved on, and nobody can upgrade it.”
“Patrons and staff want to use the catalog from their phones, not only from campus PCs.”
“Our notices and due dates are hours out because the server clock was never set.”
How we set it up
Configured for where your library is
Whether we install a new Koha, migrate you onto one, host it, or support the Koha you already run.
Your languages, set up and checked
English, French, Portuguese, Swahili, Afrikaans, Amharic and Kinyarwanda are among Koha’s community translations. We enable the ones your readers use, side by side, and check the screens staff use most.
Your time zone, calendar and currency
From Africa/Accra to Africa/Nairobi, the continent spans four hours. Each library is set to its own zone, its own public holidays and its own currency, so due dates, fines and notices are right.
No server room required
With Koha Cloud the server, power, backups and upgrades are ours, and staff work from any browser, including on a phone. If you keep your own server, we support it and set up tested backups.
Across the region
Configured for your country
| Country | Time zone | Koha interface languages |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Africa/Johannesburg (UTC+2) | English, Afrikaans |
| Nigeria | Africa/Lagos (UTC+1) | English |
| Kenya | Africa/Nairobi (UTC+3) | English, Swahili |
| Ghana | Africa/Accra (UTC+0) | English |
| Tanzania | Africa/Dar_es_Salaam (UTC+3) | English, Swahili |
| Uganda | Africa/Kampala (UTC+3) | English, Swahili |
| Ethiopia | Africa/Addis_Ababa (UTC+3) | English, Amharic |
| Rwanda | Africa/Kigali (UTC+2) | English, French, Kinyarwanda |
| Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire | Africa/Dakar, Africa/Abidjan (UTC+0) | French |
| Mozambique, Angola | Africa/Maputo (UTC+2), Africa/Luanda (UTC+1) | Portuguese |
North Africa is covered on our Middle East & North Africa page. Translation completeness varies by language; we check yours before go-live.
Included
What we look after
Nothing to run on campus
Hosted Koha means no server room, no generator, no air conditioning bill for a machine.
Works on a phone
Staff can check books in and out from a phone browser, and patrons search the catalog from theirs.
Local time and holidays
Each library on its own time zone and calendar, so loans fall due on open days.
Your languages
English, French, Portuguese, Swahili and more, enabled for staff and patrons.
Backups you keep
Automated backups, plus a full copy of your data you can download any time.
Your currency
Fines and acquisitions in rand, naira, shillings or cedis.
Koha Cloud pricing
Hosted Koha from $30 a month
Or $300 a year, saving $60. Up to 5,000 books, 5 staff and 300 patrons, with hosting, a subdomain, the public catalog, cataloguing, circulation, acquisitions, administration and training. The same price in every country; larger libraries get a tailored quote.
Already running Koha?
We support and fix the Koha you have, on your own server, and train your team in live sessions.
Koha supportMoving to Koha?
From another library system or a spreadsheet, validated and reconciled before go-live.
Koha data migrationYour team needs training?
Private live sessions for your staff on your own Koha, in your working hours.
Koha staff trainingFAQ
What libraries in the region ask us
Our power and internet are not always reliable. Is hosted Koha a good fit?
Hosting moves the server out of your building, so a power cut on campus no longer takes the catalog down for everyone else, and backups no longer depend on local equipment. Staff still need a connection to work. Where connectivity is the bigger problem, we can instead support a well-configured Koha on your own server with tested backups. We will tell you honestly which suits your situation.
Can you support a Koha we installed ourselves?
Yes. We start with an audit, fix what is broken (notices, fines, backups, certificates), and then maintain it. Many libraries we support run their own server.
How is it priced?
Koha Cloud's Basic plan has a published price in US dollars, the same in every country, with the first three months free. Support, migration and training for a Koha you run yourself are quoted.
Related reading
Background reading
Koha for universities
Does Koha scale to an academic library with several branches?
Read the guideKoha hosting guide
On-premise, VPS or managed: what each really costs.
Read the guideKoha backup and restore
A backup that actually restores, and how to prove yours does.
Read the guideOur services
Get a quote
Talk to us about your library
Tell us where you are and what you run today. We reply in your working hours.