AIC 2025 Hackathon
How It Works
"BY AFRICA, FOR AFRICA"
The theme of the 2025 Africa Innovate Conference is “By Africa for Africa: A path to Africa’s Economic Sovereignty.”
We invite participants to explore what sovereignty means for Africa, tackle market challenges, and envision solutions that empower communities, foster sustainable growth, and build selfsustaining ecosystems
KEY DATES
- Info Session (Virtual): Mid-Dec 2024 (TBD)
- Application Deadline: Dec 31, 2024
- Team Formation: Details forthcoming
- Problem-Solving Workshop (Virtual): Late-Jan
2025 (TBD) - Hackathon & Presentations (In-person): Feb 28
& Mar 1, 2025 at Martin Trust Center for
Entrepreneurship
What to Expect
- COLLABORATION
The MIT Africa Business Challenge is a unique,
immersive hackathon experience for students in
New England - EXPERTISE
Participants are tasked develop solutions to Africa’s pressing issues in Food Security, Healthcare, and Education, culminating in an in-person hackathon and awards at the 2025 MIT Africa Innovate Conference - INSPIRATION
The focus of the Africa Business Challenge is to
identify, define, and solution for advancements to move the Continent forward and inspire continued innovation and experimentation
PROBLEM THEME
Participants will team up to develop solutions in three areas
Food Security: Sustainable, innovative methods for food availability and access
Healthcare: Improving access, affordability, and advancing healthcare technology
Finance: Increasing access and equity in financial services across Africa
Eligibility Criteria
The MIT Africa Business Challenge invites U.S.-based university students passionate about driving innovation in Africa. Applicants must:
- Be Currently Enrolled: Undergraduate, graduate, or professional students at U.S. universities.
- Form Teams: 3–5 members, preferably interdisciplinary.
- Focus on Africa: Commit to solving challenges in Food Security, Healthcare, or Finance.
- Be Available: Participate in the Hackathon (February 28–March 1, 2025).
- Show Passion for Innovation: Demonstrate enthusiasm for collaboration and impactful problem-solving.
Eligible students are encouraged to apply and join this transformative experience!
Evaluation Criteria
The Africa Innovate Conference Hackathon is designed to evaluate the commercial potential and feasibility of proposed solutions addressing Africa’s critical challenges. Participants will be judged based on the following criteria:
- Unique Value Proposition: What makes the solution distinctive?
- Team Composition: Does the team have the skills to execute effectively?
- Opportunity: Market size, timing, and business model alignment.
- Context: Viability within regulatory, political, and industry frameworks.
- Competitive Advantage: Barriers to entry, differentiation, and scalability.
- Risk/Reward: Strategies to balance risks and maximize rewards.
- Structured Experimentation: Validation of key assumptions and hypotheses.
- Financial Viability: Realistic financial projections and pathways to success.
- Traction & Execution: Milestones, partnerships, or early customer traction.
- Go-to-Market Strategy: Customer acquisition and marketing/sales channels.
All of these criteria need not to be exhaustively met in order to make a solid case for a winning idea. However, a well-laid-out problem, solution and execution path will go a long way in ensuring a great presentation. Teams that have gone far in their plans including, but not limited, to having a proven technology, recruited partners, or even attracted “beta” customers may increase their probability of success. On the other hand, strong early stage ideas that have been thought through and tested will be well-received and considered based on their standalone potential and the team’s ability to execute.
Sponsors
Partners
