Hackathons/Programs to watch out for in Q4, 2021
Published: 2021-11-28 16:46:01

This quarter is on a good start in the tech community with a lot of hackathons and programs happening globally.

## African App Launchpad AAL Cup 2021
IBM is collaborating with Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA) in its 3rd edition of the African Application Launchpad Cup (AAL Cup 2021) — to launch the "Africa for Creative Games and Digital Applications" competition. The competition aims to up-skill 10,000 African youth and support 100 startups in the field of applications and game development. Participants will get the chance to leverage IBM SMEs and train using the IBM Digital - Nation Africa platform. Selected winners will enjoy IBM mentorship opportunities and get the chance to deploy their solutions on IBM Cloud using the worldwide program "Startup with IBM".

**Eligible African Countries-** Egypt, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, The Gambia, Nigeria, Togo and Uganda.

Read more about the program [here](http://techleaders.eg/aal/competition2021/)

## AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship
The fellowship program seeks highly competent tech innovators within the African continent to organs within the African Union Headquarters and organs as ‘resident fellows’ to understand the system within those organs; identify challenges within the system and propose solutions to these challenges.
The fellows will be expected to co-create and build innovative tailor-made products and processes that improve the delivery of the African Union’s mandate especially in the context of good governance and citizens engagement. Additionally, the program will seek to facilitate conditions for building the internal capacity of the host African Union organs in the long term.

Read more about the program [Here](https://auinnovationfellowship.com/)

## Hacktoberfest
Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open source software run by DigitalOcean. During the month of October, open-source software enthusiasts, beginners, and the developer community participate by contributing to open-source projects. It is open to everyone.

Read more about the program [here](https://hacktoberfest.digitalocean.com/)

Additional Resource- [Beginner's guide to Hacktoberfest 2021](https://ayushirawat.com/beginners-guide-to-hacktoberfest-2021)

## Bridge To MassChallenge Nigeria 2021

Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria is a national startup competition in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency that identifies and accelerates the top startups in Nigeria while connecting them to the MassChallenge global network. The program is focused on supporting early-stage startups across all industries that are based in Nigeria and interested in growing their business in the Nigerian market. 

Read more about the program [here](https://apply.masschallenge.org/-temporary-slug-195bbb91-3f42-4b90-b2b1-a1712dbc0c33?hs_preview=FrbYBroP-49904863060)

## SCA Web Monetized Hackathon
%[https://twitter.com/SheCodeAfrica/status/1442764487656984578]
As part of SheCodeAfrica's 5th Anniversary, Coil is sponsoring an Interledger and Web Monetization learning program. The hackathon is only open for female techies (SCA Community Members):
- Designers, Developers, Designers, Product Managers, and every other role
- People looking to explore new ideas, build new skills and learn about Interledger and Web Monetization
- Anyone who wants to learn about new advancements in open payments

Join the SheCodeAfrica community via this [link](bit.ly/scaslacksignup) to get started.

Read more about the program [here](https://apply.africahacks.com/challenge/SheCodeAfrica_Web_Monetization_Challenge)

## The Afriex virtual crypto/web3 Hackathon

The Afriex crypto/web3 hackathon is aimed at African developers to promote blockchain development on the continent By bringing together innovative minds, [Afriex](https://afriexapp.com/) aims to build an enabling environment for blockchain developers on the continent. The event will last for 4 days and the Winning Team gets a grand prize of $1000 in crypto and a job offer or a chance to continue the project. (Form closes:6th October 2021.)

Read more about the program [here](https://afriexapp.com/)

Registration form- [Here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjJbK-1hn6LzfrnoMwnWgiV6La3W_9Gf-0BGIpgfYD4YZlhQ/viewform)

## Mercury Hackathon 2021: All about NFTs
At the Mercury Hackathon 2021, we believe that the sky’s the limit in the world of blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Join us on this 6-week online hackathon supported by Filecoin, IPFS & Flow that brings together some of the most talented creators around the world to innovate and redefine boundaries. 

With up to USD $120,000 worth of FIL & FLOW tokens to be given out and 14 prize categories, participants can choose to build and develop projects spanning between NFTs and decentralized storage services. Wish to experience web3 storage, Estuary, Slate, or NFTstorage and beyond? Strap on, suit up & let's get building.

Read more about the program [here](https://ahack.link/AMBiolubisi)

## Red Brick Pre-accelerator Program
This is a 6-week 100% online program targeted at start-up founders.

The different premade modules of our online program will help you to validate your idea, find your customer and support your team growth. You have access to high-quality content & tools and will be in direct contact with experienced mentors and coaches. 

Read more about the program [here](https://redbrick.fi/programs/pre-accelerator-program/)

## TechonDemand Hackthon (FSI Fintech Challenge)
A Physical & Virtual Hackathon Event to address the dominance of cash
transactions, manual processes, and access to financial services among retailers,
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as individuals in
suburban parts of Nigeria including university communities and their environs.

Read more about the hackathon [here](https://fsi.ng/innovation-challenge/1/techondemand)

## PyTorch Annual Hackathon 2021
The PyTorch Annual Hackathon is back in 2021 with all-new opportunities for you to get started or continue learning about PyTorch. Join the community to build innovative and impactful models, applications, and other projects that use AI responsibly.

What to Build: Build a project using PyTorch in one of the three categories: 
- PyTorch Responsible AI Development Tools & Libraries
- Web and Mobile Applications powered by PyTorch
- PyTorch Developer Tools & Libraries

Read more about the hackathon [here](https://pytorch2021.devpost.com/?ref_feature=challenge&ref_medium=homepage-recommended-hackathons)

## AWS Graviton Hackathon
Build or migrate an application to Amazon EC2 instances powered by Arm-based AWS Graviton2 processors for a chance to win $10,000 cash and a trip to re:Invent 2021.

AWS Graviton processors are custom built by Amazon Web Services using 64-bit Arm Neoverse cores to deliver the best price-performance for your cloud workloads running in Amazon EC2. AWS Graviton2 are the latest generation Arm-based processors that power a range of general-purpose, compute-optimized, and memory-optimized EC2 instances

Read more about the hackathon [here](https://awsgraviton.devpost.com/?ref_feature=challenge&ref_medium=homepage-recommended-hackathons)

## Shell.ai Hackathon for Sustainable and Affordable Energy
Tackling climate change is an urgent challenge. Shell is transforming to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, in step with society and our customers. We are exploring new opportunities to provide more low-carbon energy such as biofuels, hydrogen, charging for electric vehicles and electricity generated by solar and wind power. To achieve this, we are working collaboratively on unproven, early-stage ideas with the potential to impact the future of energy.

Help us harness the power of the sun and win monetary awards or funding for your project!

Read more about the hackathon [here](https://www.hackerearth.com/challenges/competitive/shell-ai-hackathon-2021/)

> Cover image [Unsplah](https://unsplash.com/photos/p6YWrjhmjhM)