TechX Rwanda Hackathon 2026

TechX Rwanda 2026 is a student-focused hackathon that brings together aspiring developers, AI practitioners, cybersecurity enthusiasts, data scientists, and innovators to solve real African challenges using emerging technologies. Hosted at the CMU-Africa Digital Experience Center in Kigali, the event is designed to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry practice through hands-on collaboration, technical mentorship, and rapid product development.

Over three days, participants will work in teams to design and build functional software prototypes that address challenges in agriculture, financial services, and smart cities. Alongside the hackathon, attendees will participate in practical workshops covering Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Cybersecurity, TensorFlow, Git, and modern software development workflows, while receiving guidance from experienced Nano-Mentors.

Whether you are looking to sharpen your technical skills, collaborate with talented peers, or build a solution that creates meaningful local impact, TechX Rwanda 2026 provides the perfect environment to learn, innovate, and grow.

Event Details

• Event: TechX Rwanda 2026: Future-Ready Tech Leaders

• Format: Student Hackathon

• Location: CMU-Africa Digital Experience Center, Kigali, Rwanda

• Submission Platform: Devpost

• Team Size: 3–4 students

• Eligibility: Students above the legal age of majority in their country of residence

• Registration: Online

Challenge Tracks

Participants will build solutions in one of the following tracks:

🌱 AgriTech & Climate Resilience

Develop AI and data-driven solutions that help address challenges such as:

• Crop disease detection

• Weather prediction

• Farm productivity

• Climate resilience

• Precision agriculture

💳 FinTech & Financial Inclusion

Create solutions that improve financial security and accessibility, including:

• Mobile money fraud detection

• Financial inclusion

• Transaction monitoring

• Cybersecurity tools

• Digital financial services

🏙 Smart Cities & Public Resource Allocation

Design applications that improve urban living through:

• Traffic optimization

• Public transport planning

• Resource allocation

• Geospatial analytics

• Smart city solutions

Technologies & Skills

Participants will gain hands-on experience with technologies including:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Machine Learning

• TensorFlow

• Data Science

• Data Analytics

• Cybersecurity

• Git & Version Control

• Open Source Development

• Software Engineering

• Cloud Development

• Predictive Analytics

What You Will Build

Each team must develop a functional solution such as:

• Software application

• AI or Machine Learning model

• Predictive analytics solution

• Data visualization dashboard

• Cybersecurity tool

• Open-source prototype

Projects should solve a real African challenge while incorporating concepts covered during the technical workshops.

Submission Requirements

Before the submission deadline, each team must provide:

• Project title and summary

• Public GitHub repository

• Presentation slides (PDF or PPTX)

• 45-second demo video showcasing the prototype

Judging Criteria

Projects will be evaluated based on:

• Local Impact & Problem Alignment (20%)

• Technical Execution & Tool Usage (35%)

• Working MVP & Prototype (20%)

• Innovation & Resourcefulness (15%)

• Pitch Quality & Time Management (10%)

Why Participate?

By joining TechX Rwanda 2026, you will:

• Build a real-world software project

• Learn modern AI and Data Science tools

• Work alongside experienced Nano-Mentors

• Collaborate with talented student developers

• Strengthen your GitHub portfolio

• Practice teamwork and product development

• Gain experience pitching technical solutions

• Network with IEEE members, faculty, and industry professionals

• Solve meaningful challenges affecting communities across Africa

Prize

🏆 Hackathon Champion

The winning team will receive:

• IEEE Certificate of Excellence

• Exclusive one-on-one mentorship session with an IEEE Distinguished Technologist or industry leader

Who Should Attend?

This hackathon is ideal for:

• University students

• Computer Science students

• Software developers

• Data Scientists

• AI & Machine Learning enthusiasts

• Cybersecurity students

• Open-source contributors

• Anyone passionate about using technology to solve African challenges