Sixty hackers selected on application — developers, designers, domain experts, urban planners, project leaders — work in teams on six concrete challenges set by African ministries, NGOs and operators. Six finalist teams pitch at the summit plenary on October 21, in front of an international jury.
60
Talents selected on application
6
Concrete challenges · 1 per vertical + AI
48 h
Of intensive work with mentoring
5
Finalist teams at the summit plenary
Official applications open in June 2026
The online application form (CV, motivation, expertise, preferred challenge) will be published here in June 2026. You can already register your interest by email to be notified first when applications open.
Each challenge is co-written with an African ministry, NGO or field operator. Challenges 1 to 4 cover the four verticals (health, finance, agriculture, education); challenge 5 embodies the cross-cutting sovereign AI & data thread.
Design a digital pathway that improves prenatal monitoring in rural areas, from the first consultation to delivery, accessible to community midwives on entry-level smartphones.
Imagine a health micro-insurance product activated by a mobile money payment, covering primary medical acts and triggering automatic settlement to the care provider.
Build a personalised agronomic advice service that talks to a producer in their local language (choose: Wolof, Bambara, Lingala, Baoulé), via SMS and automated voice messages.
Design a vocational training platform for low-bandwidth territories: smart pre-loading, adaptive learning paths, recognised certification, offline library.
Design a rental and digital cadastre platform for the informal neighbourhoods of Abidjan or another African metropolis — digital postal address, participatory census, provisional titles secured on blockchain or national registry.
Propose a sovereign and interoperable digital identity layer that allows a West African citizen to access multiple services (health, banking, education, housing) via privacy-preserving single sign-on.
We code, we design, we prototype — but above all we understand the field. Here are the profiles that make up the 60 spots.
Developers
Mobile (Android/iOS), web, backend, AI. All tech stacks welcome.
Designers
Product designers, UX researchers, illustrators. Focus on low-bandwidth usability.
Domain experts
Health professionals, agronomists, financiers, educators — you carry the field's voice.
Project leaders
Already running a startup or initiative? Come stress-test it.
During the 48 hours, twenty pan-African mentors — CTOs, product managers, doctors, agronomists, data lawyers, designers — rotate across the workspaces. They challenge your assumptions, open their address books and save you hours wasted on dead-ends.
Three dedicated highlights: a methodology workshop on the morning of the 19th, a progress check on the evening of the 19th at the mentor-participant dinner, and a final review before submission on the 20th at 2 PM. Outside these moments, mentors remain available on demand.
Detailed mentor list announced at final selection.
June 2026
Applications open
Online file — CV, motivation, expertise, team or solo, preferred challenge.
August 31, 2026
Application deadline
September 15, 2026
60 selected applicants announced
Email notification with detailed rules and on-site logistics.
Oct. 19 — 9:00 AM
Kick-off in Abidjan
Presentation of the 6 challenges, team formation, mentor assignment.
Oct. 20 — 6:00 PM
Prototype submission
Code, 3-minute demo video, final slide deck.
Oct. 21 — 4:45 PM
Final on the summit plenary stage
5 finalist teams, 10 min pitch + 3 min Q&A in front of an international jury.
Oct. 21 — 5:45 PM
Deliberation and award ceremony
1st, 2nd, 3rd + jury favourite prize.
Final prize amounts are announced when applications officially open. Beyond cash, winners benefit from post-event support and editorial visibility on ALMS and EVIAL Group channels.
1st prize
Cash prize + incubation programme
6-month support by EVIAL Group + ALMS 2027 visibility
2nd prize
Cash prize
Post-event mentoring follow-up
3rd prize
Cash prize
Post-event mentoring follow-up
Jury favourite
Special jury award
ALMS editorial visibility and investor introductions
The final jury, scoring the pitches at the plenary on October 21, is made up of seven figures: a leading pan-African investor, a recognised tech executive, a representative of a multilateral institution (AfDB, WHO Africa or ECOWAS), an AI & data expert, a field operator (health, agriculture or finance), a leading figure of the West African startup ecosystem, and a representative of a sponsor partner.
The jury evaluates on four weighted criteria: impact on the last mile, feasibility, quality of the prototype, and clarity of the pitch.
Exact jury composition announced at final selection.
For the 60 selected applicants, participation is entirely free: no hackathon registration fee and no ALMS 2026 summit registration fee. You get free access to the three days of the summit (October 21-23) on top of the 48 hours of hackathon. Ongoing catering, lunches and the mentor dinner are provided during the hackathon. Travel and accommodation costs in Abidjan remain the applicant's responsibility, unless a specific scholarship is announced when applications open.
Yes. You can apply solo or as a team of 2 to 4 people. Pre-formed teams are evaluated as a whole. If you apply solo, your team is assigned on-site based on complementary skills and the chosen challenge.
No. The hackathon looks for a mix of profiles: developers, designers, domain experts (health, agriculture, finance, education), legal experts, students. A winning team is rarely a 100% technical team.
French is the primary language. English is accepted for pitches and deliverables. Mentors cover both languages.
You retain ownership of your code. ALMS strongly encourages open source but does not require it, except for challenge 05 (digital identity) where an open source layer is required. For solutions selected for incubation, a specific agreement will be signed.
You must be 18 by October 19, 2026. No upper age limit.
You can still attend the summit on October 21-23 as a regular participant at the rate of your category. The hackathon final on October 21 at 4:45 PM is open to all summit pass holders.
Register your interest now. You will be notified first when applications officially open in June 2026, and will receive the full rules along with the application form.
