The 2G meets AI Hackathon is a groundbreaking event focused on reimagining the potential of artificial intelligence in low-connectivity settings. In a continent where many still rely on 2G networks, this hackathon challenges developers, designers, data scientists, and entrepreneurs to create practical and scalable AI-powered solutions that work seamlessly in bandwidth-constrained environments.

With support from ecosystem partners, tools, and APIs, participants will innovate across key sectors including health, agriculture, finance, education, and climate—delivering real-world solutions that are accessible and impactful.

Addressable Problems in Low-Connectivity AI

• Offline and Edge AI Solutions

Many regions lack consistent internet access. Build AI solutions that work offline or at the edge, from language translation tools to diagnostic apps that don’t require cloud connectivity.

• Smart Agriculture for Rural Farmers

Develop AI tools that help farmers make better decisions using SMS or USSD, such as pest prediction, weather insights, or crop advisory services.

• AI-Powered Health Support via SMS/Voice

Create diagnostic tools or mental health assistants that use natural language processing (NLP) over simple text/voice interfaces, supporting remote and underserved communities.

• Financial Inclusion Through Lightweight AI

Design credit scoring models that work via SMS inputs, or fraud detection mechanisms that can run in low-data environments, empowering underserved populations.

• Education and E-Learning in Low-Bandwidth Settings

Reinvent e-learning by building AI-based tutoring or content recommendation tools that work through text-based interactions or voice assistants.

• Climate and Disaster Response

Use AI to track environmental changes, send alerts, or deliver educational updates through accessible communication channels.

Objectives

• Bridge the Digital Divide: Create solutions that unlock the potential of AI in areas where internet infrastructure is limited.

• Foster Local Innovation: Empower African innovators to address unique local challenges using AI technologies that are context-aware.

• Promote Inclusive AI: Build human-centered AI solutions that are accessible, transparent, and equitable.

• Encourage Responsible Design: Prioritize privacy, security, and fairness in AI applications, especially in vulnerable communities.

• Enable Impact at Scale: Ensure the ideas developed can scale to reach the millions who operate on 2G networks.

Target Attendees

• Developers and Engineers: Especially those with experience in mobile, offline, or edge computing.

• AI/ML Practitioners and Data Scientists: Experts in building models optimized for low-resource environments.

• Social Entrepreneurs and Startups: Builders passionate about impact and inclusion.

• UX Designers: Creatives who can rethink user experiences through USSD, SMS, voice, or other lightweight interfaces.

• Sector Experts: Professionals from agriculture, health, education, and fintech who understand on-the-ground challenges.

Why Participate?

• Access to Specialized Tools and Datasets: Gain early access to tools, APIs, and curated datasets relevant to low-connectivity use cases.

• Mentorship and Workshops: Learn from leading minds in AI, digital inclusion, and product design.

• Collaborative Innovation: Team up with peers across disciplines to turn ideas into functional prototypes.

• Cash Prizes and Incubation Opportunities: Win exciting prizes and get a chance to take your solution to the next level.

• Make a Real-World Impact: Design for communities that need it most—and see your solution change lives.

New to Africa's Talking? Get started here

Developer Documentation: here (We welcome feedback)

THEME: 2G Meets AI Solutions

The winning solution will receive cash prizes as follows (This can change depending on with the resources available):

• Winner - $100
• 1st Runners Up - $50
• 2nd Runners Up - $25

Africa's Talking powers communications solutions across Africa with simplified access to telco infrastructure, developers use our powerful SMS, USSD, Voice, Chat, Insights, Airtime, and Mobile Data to bring your ideas to life, as you build and sustain scalable businesses.

Agenda:

1. Warm-Up

• Introductions
• Form teams where needed.
• Feedback
• Feature requests

2. Building/hacking: Code in GitHub/GitLab/BitBucket and deploy in Docker/Automated CI/Travis CI/Bamboo

Note: This section needs additional setup.

Upon commit, the repository is built and deployed to an accessible web server or an S3 bucket. Technology used.

3. Demonstration and Wrap-up

• Opportunities
• Network
• Innovate

Access to our Talent bench (You can get a job or a gig on the spot)

Submit your Idea: 

Hackathon idea submission form

Gigs:

We would love to reach out to you so that you can build for our customers, please fill out this form with details to ensure we have your details:

GIG/HACK DEVELOPER PORTFOLIO FORM

Join community channels:

Slack & WhatsApp:

Join Africa's Talking slack community here

Join Elarian Slack community here

Please follow us on Twitter handles to:

@AfricasTalking

You can get our videos, recaps, and event interviews on our youtube channels, subscribe to get updates:

• Africa's Talking Youtube Channel
• Elarian Youtube Channel

Africa's Talking community allows developers to learn skills for the modern-day African Developer. We are language and framework agnostic. All developers are welcome. This is where Africa's Talking developers community meets to build, learn and exchange knowledge.

We are helping software developers and businesses to bring their ideas to life through easy-to-use APIs quickly.

Would you like to partner with us? Kindly contact the Developer Experience Team.