Hack4Africa 2026 puts student innovations to the test

Africa University’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) has challenged students to move beyond theoretical learning and develop practical solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing challenges through a Hack4Africa 2026 pitch contest, held on 28 September, that brought innovation, technology and entrepreneurship into direct competition.

The hackathon contest themed Innovate, Build and Transform, saw 14 shortlisted teams pitch solutions across five thematic categories: AI and Digital Innovation, Healthtech, Agritech, Smart Infrastructure, and Renewable Energy and Environment.

The teams presented ideas designed to respond to real-world problems, placing students in an environment where creativity, critical thinking, technical knowledge and the ability to identify genuine community needs were tested. Delivering remarks at the event, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Engineer Talon Garikayi challenged students to view the pitch contest as a practical examination of their readiness for the world beyond university.

“My desire and my inspiration is that maybe in a year to come, our college should not be doing examinations. This should be the examinations,” Prof. Eng. Garikayi said.

The DVC said the initiative was designed to expose students to the realities of solving problems under pressure, where time and resources are often limited. He challenged students, particularly those working in technical fields, to engage more closely with communities and understand problems from the perspective of the people experiencing them.

“The most challenging issue is how can you tell someone they have a problem, yet they don’t know there’s a problem?”

He linked this challenge to the need for design thinking, using everyday infrastructure challenges to illustrate what can happen when solutions are developed without sufficiently understanding how people actually use a service. The message was particularly relevant to the teams pitching solutions for agriculture, infrastructure and technology, that innovation must begin with a clear understanding of the problem and the people affected by it.

Five teams emerged as the leading innovators, with an all-female first year team, SolarShare Nexus taking the top spot. RimAI, Shona/Ndebele Herbal Knowledge LM, Woundwise and LabLink make up the Top 5. Their selection marked the first stage of a development pathway designed to help promising student innovations move beyond the Hackathon and towards implementation.

Prof. Eng. Garikayi announced US$10,000 in support through the Research Directorate, structured to help the top five teams advance their innovations. Each of the top five teams will receive support of up to US$2,000 for eligible innovation-development needs, including items such as licensing, model tokens and other requirements necessary to develop their ideas.

The teams will then return for Hackathon 2.0, where the first five will compete for a US$10,000 prize. The approach is intended to give students an opportunity to take their ideas beyond a pitch and towards development, validation and potential commercialisation.

The shortlisted teams pitched before a panel comprising technology and business experts drawn from Mega Market, Econet Holdings, NetOne, Dandemutande and ACRN.

The judges urged participants to strengthen future pitches by clearly linking their innovations to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating the commercial potential of their ideas and backing technology solutions with credible data. They commended teams for designing with underserved communities in mind, including rural farmers and young people with limited access to smartphones, while encouraging greater collaboration across technical, business and finance disciplines. The judges also encouraged students to view feedback as part of the learning process and to pursue opportunities for industry collaboration, emphasising that “the youth of Africa are the ones who are supposed to build Africa.”

The Hack4Africa initiative provides a platform where students can test their ideas against real-world expectations while gaining exposure to industry perspectives and the demands of innovation. The initiative also reflects the growing role of experiential learning in preparing students for an economy increasingly shaped by digital technologies and artificial intelligence.

With the first five teams now moving into the next stage of development and the prospect of Hackathon 2.0 ahead, the CEAS initiative positions student innovation as a continuing process from identifying a problem, to designing a solution, testing it, refining it and ultimately exploring its potential as a viable product or venture.