GOMYCODE, the premier tech education platform across Africa and the Middle East, in co-organization with global AI computing leader NVIDIA, today announced the “Come Build with AI” hackathon. Set for September 27, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM Tunis time (UTC+1), this multi-country, 11-hour hackathon invites developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and creators of all skill levels to move from a blank page to a functional AI prototype in a single day.
The event brings together participants from eight GOMYCODE countries: Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Kenya and Saudi Arabia. Participation is available online, at 16 selected GOMYCODE hackerspaces, and at six confirmed ELIFE centres of Fondation Tunisie pour le Développement in Tunisia: Tozeur, Kef, Béja, Sidi Bouzid, Siliana and Djerba. Local teams will confirm joining details and capacity. Designed to bridge regional innovation with cutting-edge computing infrastructure, the initiative provides local builders with direct access to enterprise-grade AI resources.
“The AI revolution is fueled by local execution,” said a spokesperson for GOMYCODE. “Partnering with NVIDIA allows us to put world-class development tools and GPU power directly into the hands of thousands of builders across Africa and the Middle East. Whether you are an experienced developer or writing your first lines of code, this hackathon is designed to turn ideas into working software before the day ends.”
Powerful AI Infrastructure: NVIDIA Build & $12,500 Brev GPU Pool
To enable rapid prototyping without technical barriers, participants can use NVIDIA Build as their primary development platform—testing, comparing, and integrating state-of-the-art models for text, vision, code, and agentic workflows via hosted API endpoints.
To ensure computational power is accessible to all teams:
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$12,500 Shared GPU-Compute Pool: A single US$12,500 NVIDIA Brev GPU-compute pool will be shared across participants. The final allocation will be determined after registration, based on confirmed participation; this is not a fixed per-person or per-team entitlement. NVIDIA account requirements and usage terms apply.
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Hands-on Onboarding: The build day includes an interactive workshop led by technical mentors to guide teams through Brev environment setup and API integration.
Comprehensive Prize Pool and Partner Awards
Every participating country features a localized podium. In each of the 8 countries, the three highest-scoring eligible teams will win dedicated GOMYCODE training vouchers combined with NVIDIA Brev GPU credits:
Country Podium Prizes (Awarded in Each of the 8 Countries)
|
Podium Tier |
GOMYCODE Training Vouchers (up to) |
NVIDIA Brev GPU Credits |
Combined Value per Team |
|
1st Place |
$2,000 USD |
$300 USD |
$2,300 USD |
|
2nd Place |
$1,250 USD |
$200 USD |
$1,450 USD |
|
3rd Place |
$750 USD |
$100 USD |
$850 USD |
Across all 8 participating nations, GOMYCODE is offering up to $32,000 USD in educational vouchers alongside $4,800 USD in team podium Brev credits.
Confirmed Partner Awards
GOMYCODE co-organizes the hackathon with NVIDIA. Confirmed partners include Amini; builder platforms and startups Thunders, Guepard, Palete.AI, SupplyzPro, Flouci and Kredete; business, technology and skills partners EY Studio+, Propeller, Askya Investment Partners, Artefact, Launch Africa, CompTIA, Pearson, Brightest GmbH and Yassir; and ecosystem supporters Fondation Tunisie pour le Développement, DigiFemmes, Impact Hub Abidjan, Click Mobile and Red Bull. Red Bull provides energy drinks locally in Kenya as in-kind support. InstaDeep participates through the jury only.
Beyond the country podiums, confirmed partner awards include:
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SupplyzPro — TND 1,000 Prize: confirmed prize of 1,000 Tunisian dinars. Eligibility and allocation details will be announced.
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Brightest GmbH — Brightest Award: confirmed partner award. Prize contents, eligibility and allocation details will be announced.
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Click Mobile Kenya Cash Prize: KSh 50,000 total cash prize for Kenya. Allocation details will be announced. Separate from country podium prizes.
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Kredete Cash Prize: A confirmed US$500 cash prize; selection and award details will be announced by the organizers.
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Yassir AI for Everyday Impact Award: US$1,000 cash for the first-place team in Morocco, in addition to its country podium prizes.
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AI Annual Subscription Award: 3 subscriptions valid for one year, worth US$2,000 each (US$6,000 total); allocation details will be announced.
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Thunders Best Build Award: One Apple Mac mini awarded to one selected team.
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Guepard AI Tools Award: $500 USD in AI tool credits awarded to one selected build.
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CompTIA Certification Award: 5 complimentary CompTIA certification exam vouchers (valid 90 days) awarded to one team, plus exclusive exam discount codes for all registered participants.
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EY Studio+ Mentoring & Coaching Award: 8 winning startups will each receive 8 hours of 1-on-1 expert coaching delivered over 3 months following the event, tailored to product development, UX, customer experience, innovation or business strategy.
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DigiFemmes & Impact Hub Abidjan Catalyse Award: The 10 highest-ranked eligible projects from Côte d’Ivoire receive direct admission to Impact Hub Abidjan’s next Catalyse cohort. Teams must be based in Côte d’Ivoire.
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Pending Partner Prizes: Pearson, Flouci and Propeller remain subject to confirmation. Pending awards are not guaranteed. Country podium prizes and partner awards are separate; tool choice and access level do not affect judging.
GOMYCODE Hackerspaces, ELIFE Centres & Online Access
Participants can join online, at one of the 16 GOMYCODE hackerspaces below, or at one of six confirmed Fondation Tunisie pour le Développement centres in Tunisia: ELIFE Tozeur, ELIFE Kef, ELIFE Béja, ELIFE Sidi Bouzid, ELIFE Siliana and ELIFE Djerba. GOMYCODE locations:
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Tunisia: Lac, Kairouan, Sousse, Tunis Bardo, Megrine, Tataouine, Centre Urbain, Nabeul
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Nigeria: Yaba, Ikeja
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Algeria: Algiers, Bab Ezzouar
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Morocco: Casablanca
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Senegal: Point E
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Côte d’Ivoire: Riviera
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Kenya: Nairobi
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Global / Remote: Online Stream
Rigorous Evaluation by Industry Leaders
Projects will be scored against a published 100-point rubric: Problem & User Value (20 pts), Functional Execution (20 pts), Quality of AI Use (20 pts), Testing & Reliability (15 pts), User Experience & Demo (15 pts), and Responsible AI & Data (10 pts).
The confirmed 12-member jury comprises:
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Wei Xiao – Director of Developer Relations, NVIDIA
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James Stanger – Chief Technology Evangelist, CompTIA
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Ahmed Cheikh Rouhou – Engineering Manager, InstaDeep
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Omar Layachi – General Manager Morocco, GOMYCODE
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Babacar Seck – Founder & Managing Partner, Askya Investment Partners
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Koutheir Cherni – Founder & CEO, Guepard
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Issam Allani – Founding Engineer, Thunders
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Omar Rida – VP of Technology & Fund Ops, Propeller
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Oussama Ourahou – Founder & CEO, Palete.AI
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Nadine Zoro – President, DigiFemmes · Co-Founder, Impact Hub Abidjan
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Charlette N’Guessan – Ecosystem & Data Solutions Lead, Amini
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Imen Maouene – Partner — Innovation & Experience Design, EY Studio+
Schedule & Submission Requirements
All program times below are Tunis time (UTC+1):
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08:30–09:00: Arrival and check-in
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09:00–09:15: Opening and hackathon briefing
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09:15–09:45: History of hackathon with Yahya Bouhlel
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09:45–10:00: Finalize teams and submit roster
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By 10:15: Voucher issuing
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10:15–11:15: NVIDIA Brev and Build workshop
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11:15–17:30: Build sprints, mentor checkpoints, lunch, submission briefing and final checks; see the official website for the detailed program
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17:30: Project submissions close — working prototype or interactive demonstration, 90-second video, project card and transparent AI/tool disclosures
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17:30–17:45: Submission confirmation and gallery
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17:45–19:15: Country judging and winner selection
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19:15–19:45: Live demos by the three winning teams from each country
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19:45–20:00: Awards and next steps
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20:00: Close
Registration Details
Registration for the “Come Build with AI” hackathon is free and open to individuals and teams of up to five people.
To register or learn more about hackerspace locations, visit: 👉 https://hackathon.gomycode.com/
