In a low-resource setting, unique challenges such as limited infrastructure, high costs, and unpredictable network connectivity can hinder the setup and operation of research testbeds. Often, researchers rely on local and limited institutional resources or distant, less accessible platforms in other continents. However, a federated research testbed can provide an expanded resource pool with unified administrative features, promoting collaboration and contextual research in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and protocol design that align with local needs. In this paper, we propose a federated Pan-African Computer Science testbed, adaptive to the challenges of this environment. Five key design considerations for such a testbed are presented: \textit{DC1: Adaptive operation}, \textit{DC2: Ubuntu spirit}, \textit{DC3: Replicability}, \textit{DC4: Simplified operations} and \textit{DC5: Management features}. The testbed will build on the Research and Education Network (REN) philosophy and backbone, and our current work on vantage-point continental network measurements.