Africa Sustainability Hackathon

Are you a South African tech startup ready to build bold, future-facing solutions that solve Africa’s most urgent sustainability challenges? Apply now to be part of the Africa Sustainability Hackathon, a 67-hour innovation sprint from 15–18 July 2025, running alongside the Africa CEO Impact & Sustainability Meeting. We’re calling for teams of 2 to 3 members—ideally with 1 full-stack engineer, 1 front-end developer, and an optional product or project manager—to develop scalable, tech-enabled solutions for real enterprise sustainability problems. Stand a chance to pitch to top African CEOs and scale your product with industry leaders. This is your moment to code for impact. Apply today!

Executive Summary

The Africa Sustainability Hackathon, running parallel to the Africa CEO Impact & Sustainability Meeting 2025, is a high-intensity, 67-hour innovation camp bringing together developers, designers, data scientists, sustainability experts, entrepreneurs, and innovators. From 15 July at 12:00 to 18 July, hard stop at 07:00, participants will collaborate in cross-functional teams to develop scalable, commercially viable digital solutions to real-world sustainability challenges facing African enterprises.

The goal is to ignite transformative sustainability-focused enterprise software solutions that are tech-enabled, ESG-aligned, and primed for integration into existing business systems. Finalists will pitch at the Impact Awards Gala on 18 July, with winning teams receiving seed funding from a prize pool to accelerate product development and market entry.

This year’s hackathon focuses on five enterprise software challenge areas most relevant to Africa’s environmental, economic, and technological landscape.

Problem Statement:
Most African companies lack a robust system to track, report, and visualise sustainability metrics in alignment with global ESG standards (GRI, SASB, TCFD). Manual tracking hinders transparency, efficiency, and investor readiness.

Hackathon Goal:
Teams should develop a cloud-based, modular SaaS platform that integrates with existing ERPs (like SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) to automate sustainability reporting. Features must include carbon tracking, water usage, waste reduction, and alignment with SDGs.

Recommended Tech Stack:

• Backend: Node.js / Python (Django)

• Frontend: React / Vue.js

• Database: PostgreSQL / MongoDB

• APIs for GRI/SDG/TCFD data templates

Problem Statement:
African companies struggle with lack of real-time insight into the environmental impact of their supply chains — from sourcing to delivery.

Hackathon Goal:
Develop a blockchain-enabled or API-integrated tool that tracks product lifecycle, measures carbon miles, flags unethical sourcing, and enables green procurement decisions. This tool must work across mobile and web platforms.

Recommended Tech Stack:

• Backend: Python (Flask) / Go

• Frontend: Angular / Svelte

• Blockchain: Hyperledger Fabric / Ethereum

• Mobile: Flutter / React Native

• APIs: Open Supply Hub, GS1

Problem Statement:
Most African SMEs and property managers cannot afford high-end tools to monitor their carbon and energy usage, limiting their transition to green operations.

Hackathon Goal:
Design a lightweight, mobile-first application that helps SMEs track energy usage from smart meters or manual inputs, estimate carbon footprints, and get actionable insights to reduce emissions.

Recommended Tech Stack:

• Backend: Firebase / Express.js

• Frontend: Ionic / React Native

• API Integration: Smart meters / EnergyStar databases

• ML Module (optional): Emissions prediction models

Problem Statement:
African businesses and consumers discard massive volumes of reusable materials due to the absence of a centralised circular economy platform.

Hackathon Goal:
Build an online marketplace where businesses and communities can trade or repurpose waste as a resource — e.g., plastics, textiles, electronics, construction materials — with geolocation, impact score tracking, and partner verification.

Recommended Tech Stack:

• Backend: Laravel / Express.js

• Frontend: Next.js

• Mobile: Kotlin (Android) / Swift (iOS)

• Maps: Google Maps / Mapbox

• Payments: Flutterwave / Paystack

Problem Statement:
Smallholder farmers and agribusinesses in Africa face low productivity due to climate shocks and lack of access to real-time sustainability-focused tools.

Hackathon Goal:
Create a decision-support platform combining satellite data, IoT, and climate forecasting to guide planting cycles, water use, and soil preservation practices for farmers. Should include farmer dashboards and extension worker interfaces.

Recommended Tech Stack:

• Backend: Python (Django)

• Geospatial: Google Earth Engine / Mapbox

• IoT Integration: MQTT / LoRaWAN

• AI/ML: TensorFlow for climate prediction

• SMS/USSD support for non-smartphone users