NAIROBI, Kenya – You give 50 students 24 hours, a couple of Huawei devices, and one bold challenge: build AI that actually solves something real.
The result? A flurry of code, collaboration, and some surprisingly smart tools that could change the game for African agriculture and infrastructure.
Hosted in Nairobi during Africa AI Literacy Week, the 24-hour hackathon—organized by Qhala, Huawei, and Konza Technopolis—brought together university students across the continent to do more than just learn about artificial intelligence. They built it, tested it, and pitched it. And the results were anything but academic.
Top Prize: AI Predicts Produce Prices—And Helps Farmers Win
The winning team didn’t just impress judges—they built a tool that smallholder farmers across the continent might soon rely on. Their platform, which uses a mix of historical pricing, real-time market data, and weather forecasts, predicts the market prices of agricultural products. Think of it as an AI-powered compass in a storm of market volatility.
“This is exactly the kind of context-aware innovation that Africa needs,” said Dr. Shikoh Gitau, CEO of Qhala. “It’s rooted in real challenges and created by local talent.”
The app isn’t just a shiny prototype. Organisers believe it could help reduce price exploitation, boost farmer incomes, and empower traders and financial institutions alike. In other words, AI with ROI—for the farmer.
Runners-Up: Smart Farming Advice and AR for the Real World
Two teams tied for second place, each tackling agriculture with a different tech twist.
One team rolled out a multilingual AI chatbot that delivers real-time, personalized farming advice—from pest control to crop rotation. Bonus? It works offline, a major win for farmers in remote or low-bandwidth regions. The idea: smart help, even without internet.
The other team combined AI with augmented reality (AR) to help farmers visualize irrigation systems, storage structures, and even ideal building layouts.
Originally intended for urban infrastructure, the app was cleverly repurposed for agricultural settings. Point your phone at a plot of land, and voilà: AI shows you where to put the water tanks.
“These projects show the depth of potential within Africa’s student community,” said Josephine Ndambuki of Konza Technopolis. “They didn’t just learn AI—they applied it with precision and creativity.”
Beyond the winning ideas, the hackathon was a fast-paced crash course in collaborative innovation. Mentors from academia, industry, and Huawei’s technical team supported students through brainstorming, prototyping, and pitching—some of whom were coding into the wee hours.
Participants received Huawei tablets and smartwatches as rewards, but more importantly, they left with functioning products, newfound confidence, and a renewed sense that AI isn’t just for Silicon Valley. It’s for Africa too.
“This hackathon shows what’s possible when young people are given the tools, mentorship, and platform to create,” said Adam Lane, Huawei Kenya’s Director for Policy and Partnerships. “Some of these ideas have real potential to be scaled.”
Organisers say the event’s success highlights why efforts like Africa AI Literacy Week aren’t just about awareness—they’re about action. There’s already talk of expanding future editions to include more universities and tackle broader themes beyond the initial five sectors: agriculture, fintech, education, healthcare, and governance.
“There is strong demand to do more,” Dr. Gitau added. “And we will.”
What the Nairobi hackathon proved is that Africa’s next great tech breakthrough may not come from a corporate R&D lab—but from a student on a campus, a team at a hackathon, or a girl with a great idea and no Wi-Fi.
In 24 hours, these students went from learners to builders, and from dreamers to doers. If that’s not the future of African innovation, what is?
