Track 1
AI and business technology
Intelligent products and infrastructure for African businesses and consumers.
- Agents that run back-office work
- Local-language interfaces
- Tools that make small firms productive
Forge Hackathon 2026 · Submissions open
Build what comes next.
Bring an idea, a prototype or a company in its first months. The strongest teams share up to $15,000 in seed investment and a place in Cohort 01 of Coetara Forge.
Free to enter · About 25 minutes · Closes Sunday 25 October 2026, 23:59 WAT
Time left to submit
--Days
--Hours
--Minutes
--Seconds
- Seed investment
- $15,000
- Up to, shared among the winners
- Format
- Hybrid
- Online, then a final in Lagos
- Teams
- 1 to 5
- Enter alone or together
- Entry
- Free
- No rights taken in your idea
Why Forge exists
Africa has the talent. Execution is the bridge.
Across the continent, exceptional people are solving hard problems. Too many promising ideas stop before they become companies. The gap is rarely creativity. It is validation, product, customers, operators and capital, in the right order.
What Forge connects
- Talent
- Ideas
- Technology
- Customers
- Operators
- Capital
- Companies
Forge brings each link together in the right order. What comes out the other end is a company.
The hackathon at a glance
Two weeks to submit. One shot at Cohort 01.
Build online from anywhere in Africa. Shortlisted teams join the final in person in Lagos.
The prize
Up to $15,000
in seed investment, shared among the winning teams.
Plus an invitation into Cohort 01: ten weeks building with Forge Partners, real customers and investors.
Subject to the hackathon terms. Read the terms
Closes
Sun 25 Oct
23:59 West Africa Time
Format
Hybrid
Online build, final in Lagos
Teams
1 to 5
Enter alone or as a team
Cost
Free
No fee, and no rights taken in your idea
Timeline
Now
Submissions open
Submit an idea, a working prototype or a company in its first months.
Sun 25 Oct
Submissions close
23:59 West Africa Time. Late entries are not accepted.
26 Oct to 1 Nov
Screening
Every complete submission is read and scored against the same five questions.
From 2 Nov
Shortlist announced
Shortlisted teams hear by email, with the hackathon brief. Everyone else hears too.
Mid-November
The hackathon
Build online with mentors, then present at the final in person in Lagos.
Dec 2026 or Jan 2027
Cohort 01
The strongest teams are invited into the ten-week Forge programme.
Tracks
Four places Africa needs builders now.
Choose the track closest to your idea. If it sits somewhere else and the problem is real, enter it anyway.
Track 2
Fintech and financial infrastructure
Better ways for people and businesses to move, manage and access money.
- Cross-border payments
- Credit for the underserved
- Treasury for small businesses
Track 3
Events, creators and community
Infrastructure for Africa's events, entertainment, creator and community economy.
- Tools for organisers and venues
- Creator monetisation
- Membership and community commerce
Track 4
Commerce, logistics and markets
Better ways for goods, people and services to move through African markets.
- Last-mile delivery
- Informal retail tooling
- Market access for producers
Who should enter
You do not need to be a founder yet. You need to be a builder.
We are looking for people who learn fast, work well with others and turn ideas into action. Not perfect CVs. Not polished pitches.
You do not need
- A registered company
- A business plan
- A pitch deck
- A finished product
- A large team
- Tech builderSoftware, AI, data or engineering.
- Product builderYou understand users and how products get made.
- Business builderSales, marketing, operations or finance.
- Domain expertDeep knowledge of an industry or market.
- ResearcherWork with commercial potential.
- CreativeDesign, content or experience.
- OperatorYou make things happen.
How entries are judged
Evidence over polish.
Every complete submission is read and scored against the same five questions. A clear answer beats a beautiful deck. Slide design is not scored.
- 01
A real problem
Is the problem real, sized and unsolved, and have you spoken to the people who have it?
- 02
A credible solution
Can it be built, and what is the fastest path to something people can use?
- 03
A route to customers
How will it reach the people who will pay for it?
- 04
The right team
Can this team carry it for years, not weeks?
- 05
A business
Can it make money on its own, without subsidy or goodwill?
What comes after
The hackathon is the door, not the destination.
Forge is a venture builder. The hackathon finds the people. The programme builds the companies. Two engines feed one portfolio.
- 01
Community
Join builders across the continent. Free and always open.
- 02You are here
Hackathon
Prove the idea under pressure. You are here.
- 03
Cohort 01
Ten weeks building with Forge Partners, customers and capital.
- 04
Portfolio
Funded ventures with operators and distribution behind them.
From people to companies
Forge Launch
We find exceptional builders, form strong teams, validate real problems, build, find first customers and prepare the strongest ventures for investment.
Learn moreFrom technology to companies
Forge Commercial
We work with universities, research institutions and corporate teams to take promising technology and intellectual property out of the lab and into the market.
Learn moreQuestions
Before you submit.
Who can enter?
Anyone aged 18 or over who is building for African markets. You can be anywhere on the continent or in the diaspora. Students, professionals and existing early-stage founders are all welcome.
Does it cost anything to enter?
No. Entering is free, and it gives Forge no rights in your idea.
Do I need a team?
No. Enter alone or as a team of up to 5. If you enter alone, tell us whether you would like to be matched with teammates for the hackathon.
Do I need a finished product or a registered company?
No. A clear problem and a credible direction are enough. Prototypes and companies in their first months are welcome too, as long as they have not raised institutional venture funding.
Do I have to be in Lagos?
Not to enter, and not for the online build. Shortlisted teams are invited to the final in person in Lagos. Details for finalists, including logistics, are shared with the shortlist.
The next great African company
Could start with you.
You do not need everything figured out. You need the curiosity to find the problem, the courage to build, and the discipline to test.