San Francisco-based non-profit Hack for Big Choices will on February 20-23 host what it claims is West Africa’s biggest ever hackathon in Accra, Ghana, looking for solutions to challenges in the region and offering successful entrepreneurs long-term support.
Hack for Big Choices, which works with local communities in 17 cities across five continents, has hosted hackathons in Alexandria, Egypt, before, but this event signals its first entry into Sub-Saharan Africa.
The hackathon will take place at Hub Accra, with Hack for Big Choice saying winning teams will gain long-term committed support for their projects through Hub Accra and MEST.
“We’re trying to jumpstart the local economy by helping you create sustainable businesses that match your amazing entrepreneurial intentions with big opportunities,” the organisation said.
“We are working to optimise entrepreneurial intentions in order to create sustainable, needed innovations to help local economies grow and prosper.”
Hack for Big Choice said it knows talented and tech-savvy Africans are emerging in the region, “unleashing new creative communities with crisp perspectives”.
“You have the potential to change and improve West Africa with your ideas, and innovate at a time when Africa’s growth is accelerating in the face of serious challenges that have yet to be solved,” the organisation said.
“We see great potential attracting capital to help you build innovative disruptive solutions that can improve lives in West Africa – and we know that you have the spirit and talent to do it! Africa is unique like that – it has the highest rate of early stage entrepreneurial activity in the world, while needing disruptive solutions to fix real crises and build infrastructure for the rising billion.”
