Africa has hosted what organisers describe as the biggest Web3 hackathon ever held, bringing together more than 13,000 developers across 20 hubs to solve real infrastructure challenges. The event offered a total prize pool of $1 million.
The 2025 Hedera Africa Hackathon was organised by The Hashgraph Association and Exponential Science. Results were announced on April 29, 2026. According to the organisers, over 1,300 projects were submitted, while more than 45,000 participants joined training and certification programmes linked to the event.
A Nigerian team, GreenAfrica, won the top prize of $100,000. The team built a platform that tracks environmental and sustainability projects using distributed ledger technology, making it easier to verify claims and improve transparency.
Second place went to Egypt’s Carboni Renewable Energy Certificate Platform, which received $70,000 for its system that helps verify and trade renewable energy credits. The team said the award supports its goal of improving how clean energy projects are tracked and financed.
Effisend X Africa, a Mexico-based team, took third place and $60,000. The group developed an artificial intelligence-powered payment routing system designed to connect different African payment networks that often do not work well together.
Fourth place was awarded to Malaysia’s Silsilat Finance, which received $40,000 for building tools to improve cross-border payments. Nigeria’s Beyond Service came fifth with $30,000 for creating a gaming platform that allows users to own digital assets and identities within the game.
The hackathon focused on four main areas: digital finance, distributed ledger operations, immersive digital experiences, and AI-driven infrastructure systems. It was supported by partners including Orange Digital Centers, Sygnum Bank, and Nairobi Securities Exchange, with operations handled by Dar Blockchain.
Kamal Youssefi, President of The Hashgraph Association, said the event showed the scale of talent and ambition across Africa and beyond.
In addition to awarding prizes, the organisers announced plans to support leading projects after the competition. A new investment committee will provide funding, mentorship, and business support to help teams grow their ideas into real companies.
The organisers have also confirmed that another edition of the hackathon will take place in 2026, with more details to be announced.
The winning projects reflect key sectors gaining attention across Africa, including financial technology, clean energy, and health technology. Participants came from countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, South Africa, Morocco, and Ivory Coast, showing the wide reach of the initiative.
