#BuildwithAT #WeloveNerds #WomenInTech

Overview:

Join Africa’s Talking for an exciting Women in Technology hackathon focused on Technology Startups Solutions! Leverage Africa’s Talking APIs (SMS, USSD, Voice, Airtime, Insights, and Chat) to develop early-stage startup ideas and solutions that address challenges faced by women in tech. Whether you’re creating a platform for mentorship and networking, building innovative communication tools, or developing a new product to empower female entrepreneurs, this hackathon offers an opportunity to collaborate with other passionate innovators. Gain hands-on experience integrating Africa’s Talking APIs while bringing your business concept to life.

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 Community Development and Outreach challenges, improving the lives of individuals across diverse regions. 
• Recognition and Visibility: Present your innovations to fellow developers and potential investors, opening opportunities for mentorship, funding, and further growth.

Key Focus Areas:

• Startup Accelerator Tools: Develop platforms or applications that streamline the startup process—incorporating project management, customer engagement, and fundraising tools for female-led ventures.
• Mentorship and Networking Platforms: Create solutions that connect aspiring women entrepreneurs with established business leaders, investors, and mentors, leveraging communication APIs for seamless interaction.
• Financial Services and Payment Solutions: Integrate Payment APIs to build financial literacy tools, crowdfunding platforms, or micro-lending systems tailored for women in tech.
• Community Building and Collaboration: Design social platforms or communication hubs that facilitate knowledge sharing, collaboration on open-source projects, and peer-to-peer support among female technologists.
• E-Learning and Skill Development: Craft interactive learning tools, workshops, or bootcamp-style modules that help women upskill in areas like coding, product management, or data analysis.
• Market Access and Growth Strategies: Develop innovative solutions that enable female-led startups to expand their market reach, gather user feedback, and refine their business models using real-time data.

Target Attendees:

• Software Developers
• UI/UX and Product Designers
• Data Scientists and AI/ML Engineers
• Entrepreneurs

• Innovators Looking to Launch Products

• Entrepreneurs Focused on Technology

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: Solutions for Technology Startups

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 from the hackathon venue.