EU: Africa - The Post Crisis Journey Hackathon
PHOTO CREDIT: GARAGE48

I had an amazing 72 hours last weekend, where I participated as a mentor at the EUAfrica Hackathon organised by Garage48. I engaged with 6 startups through one-on-one sessions all through the weekend.

I am excited to share that one of the teams I mentored made it to the top 10 selected finalists from the 315 teams that participated. Abiodun Ogunyemi, Ph.D and his team did a great job and what is more impressive is they are in for the long-haul with their project TalkamNaija — a citizen to government platform aimed at bridging the gap among stakeholders while driving for better accountability and participation in governance in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, not all teams made it to the top 10. In fact there was a team I mentored that could not make a demo due to internal issues. This is very normal in projects and I salute the team lead for staying the course and still participating till the end despite the setbacks. He is a real winner.

The hackathon has again revealed to the world the growing talent in Africa and why the continent is the now and the future. The level of growth in tech skills is very impressive and with the right guidance the next decade, Africans will be a the top of tech globally.

I am honoured to have participated and thank the organisers — Garage48 for inviting me. We learn everyday and I have learnt a lot from the hackathon. a truly impressive December weekend.
['Ibrahim Bashir']
['Hackathon', 'Africa', 'Innovation', 'Startup']