#BuildwithAT #WeloveNerds #WomenInTech

Overview:

Join Africa’s Talking Women in Technology for an exhilarating hackathon centered on Advertising and Digital Marketing Solutions! Harness the power of Africa’s Talking APIs (SMS, USSD, Voice, Airtime, Insights, and Chat) to create innovative digital tools that revolutionize how businesses advertise and engage with their audiences. Whether you're a seasoned developer, creative marketer, or budding entrepreneur, this hackathon is your opportunity to design, prototype, and launch solutions that drive brand awareness, customer engagement, and measurable marketing success across the continent. Participants will work collaboratively to ideate and develop a range of solutions—from automated ad campaign platforms and interactive digital billboards to personalized marketing chatbots and insightful analytics tools. Get hands-on experience integrating our robust APIs into products that can transform traditional advertising methods and empower businesses to thrive in a digital-first world. 

Why Attend?

• Empower Women in Tech: Be part of an inclusive platform that supports women developers, data scientists, and innovators to showcase their skills and drive positive change.

• Hands-On Learning: Gain practical experience using Africa’s Talking APIs to build real-world solutions and strengthen your portfolio with impactful projects.
• Networking and Collaboration: Connect with industry professionals, mentors, and fellow tech enthusiasts while forming valuable relationships for future collaborations.
• Make a Difference: Tackle pressing Advertising and Digital Marketing challenges, creating solutions that can enhance how businesses advertise and engage with their audiences across Africa and beyond.
• Recognition and Visibility: Present your innovations to fellow developers and potential investors, opening opportunities for mentorship, funding, and further growth.

Key Focus Areas:

• Innovative Ad Campaign Platforms: Develop user-friendly web or mobile applications that help businesses design, launch, and manage digital ad campaigns. Solutions might include automation of ad placements, budgeting tools, and real-time performance tracking.

• Targeted Digital Marketing Tools: Create systems that leverage AI and data analytics to deliver personalized ad content. These solutions can provide insights on customer behavior, optimize ad targeting, and improve conversion rates. 
• Engagement through SMS and USSD: Build interactive solutions that integrate Africa’s Talking SMS and USSD APIs to deliver targeted advertising messages, promotions, and customer surveys, ensuring businesses reach even the most remote audiences. 
• Voice-Activated Marketing: Utilize Voice APIs to design innovative voice-based ads and customer engagement solutions. These might include interactive voice response (IVR) systems for campaign feedback or audio advertisements tailored for smart devices.
• Social Media and Chat Integrations: Develop tools that enhance social media marketing and customer interactions via Africa’s Talking Chat APIs. Solutions could include chatbots that assist with customer inquiries, promote products, or drive interactive ad campaigns.
• Data-Driven Insights and Analytics: Create platforms that harness the power of data collected through Africa’s Talking Insights API. These solutions can provide businesses with actionable metrics to measure campaign success, audience reach, and return on investment.

Target Attendees:

• Software Developers
• UI/UX and Product Designers
• Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers
• Digital Marketers and Advertising Professionals
• Entrepreneurs in AdTech
• Business Strategists and Innovators

These diverse groups of attendees will bring a range of skills, perspectives, and ideas to the hackathon, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment for innovation.

All developers, from all fields, are welcome for the hackathon.

What to Expect as an Attendee:

• Cutting-Edge Tools and Technologies: Gain access to Africa's Talking APIs and SDKs, specifically designed to streamline implementation and ensure a seamless experience.
• Mentorship and Guidance: Collaborate closely with seasoned experts from Africa's Talking, who will serve as mentors throughout the hackathon. Benefit from their guidance, insights, and support as we build together.
• Expand Your Network: As a member of our community, you'll have the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, potential collaborators, and industry professionals. Build valuable relationships that can propel your career or projects to new heights.
• Exciting Rewards and Recognition: Get a chance to win cash prizes and earn recognition for your innovative solutions. Get to receive accolades for your contributions through our social media, potential collaborators and other platforms.
• Qualify for the Marketplace Program: By participating in the hackathon, you become eligible to join our exclusive Marketplace Program. Unlock opportunities to further develop and monetize your solutions, making a lasting impact on Africa's economic growth and development.
• Exposure to other women in tech opportunities.

Solution Criteria:

• Use of Africa's Talking APIs: How effectively the project utilizes one or more of the Africa's Talking APIs i.e. SMS, USSD, Airtime, Voice, Insights, Chat.
• Innovation: The originality and creativity of the project idea and implementation.
• User Experience: How well the project meets user needs and provides an intuitive and seamless experience.
• Functionality: How well the project performs the intended functionality and handles errors and edge cases.
• Presentation: The clarity and effectiveness of the project demonstration and pitch.

New to Africa's Talking? Get started here.

Developer Documentation (We welcome feedback)

THEME: Advertising and Digital Marketing Solutions

The winning solution will receive cash prizes as follows:

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

Social Media give-aways too!

More exclusive prizes and giveaways to attendees.

Contribute to open-source.

Agenda:

1. Introductions

2. Overview

• Technical hands-on session

3. Ideation

• Form teams where need be.
• Feedback

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

5. Demonstration and Wrap-up

• Teams or individuals will demonstrate what they have hacked for feedback or adoption.

Note: Carry a laptop

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

Join our community channels:

• Community Page:
• Join Africa's Talking Women In Tech Community here

• Twitter (X):
• Follow Our Page on X here

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

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.

Everyone is welcome!

Transport:

• Once you register, you will receive a transport code to redeem for your transport to and fro the hackathon venue.