Hedera Africa Hackathon crowns winners in record global showdown

The Hashgraph Association, a Swiss based non profit advancing digital enablement, innovation, and education across the Hedera ecosystem, and Exponential Science, an organization focused on supporting emerging technologies to advance human progress, have announced the winners of its Hedera Africa Hackathon, which has officially become the largest hackathon globally.

More than 13,000 developers, 1,300 project submissions, and 45,000 certification participants across 20+ African hubs participated in the Hedera Africa Hackathon.

The winning projects focused on building real infrastructure projects on top of Hedera Technology. These solutions included route payments across incompatible networks, verified renewable energy certificates, and secure medical records against silent or unauthorized alteration.

The $1 million prize pool, among the largest ever awarded at a Web3 hackathon, co funded by The Hashgraph Association, and Exponential Science, was distributed across four thematic tracks, alongside a cross-track championship recognizing the strongest projects overall. In addition to the success of the hackathon, The Hashgraph Association also formed an Investment Committee, which will make multi-million-dollar commitments in strategic partnerships, expanding the ecosystem’s global footprint and emphasis on emerging markets. This committee positions Hedera as one of the few ecosystems directly supporting builders with capital, mentorship, and enterprise pathways.

2025 Hedera Hackathon winners used Hedera DLT across four tracks

Hackathon developers created scalable, real-world solutions tailored to the continent’s most urgent challenges using Hedera’s DLT across four tracks: On-Chain Finance & Real-World Assets, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) for Operations, Immersive Experiences, and AI & DePIN.

The hackathon also included partnerships with Orange Digital Center and was operated by Dar Blockchain.

Commenting on the win, the team behind Carboni Renewable Energy Certificate Platform said, “We’re honored that the judges endorsed our vision for rebuilding renewable energy reporting and financing, and excited to turn this win into a real service on Hedera that supports the 1.5-degree goal.”

The Cross-Track Champions were selected for exceptional innovation, execution, and real-world impact across all categories:

• 1st Place ($100,000): GreenAfrica (Nigeria) – Environmental verification platform enabling transparent tracking of sustainability initiatives.
• 2nd Place ($70,000): Carboni Renewable Energy Certificate Platform (Egypt) – Infrastructure for proving and trading verified renewable energy credentials.
• 3rd Place ($60,000): Effisend X Africa (Mexico) – AI-powered payment routing layer connecting incompatible African payment rails.
• 4th Place ($40,000): Silsilat Finance (Malaysia) – Cross-border settlement infrastructure for emerging markets.
• 5th Place ($30,000): Beyond Service (Nigeria) – Mobile game with persistent digital identity and asset ownership.

The winners by track are:

On-Chain Finance & Real-World Assets:

1. Silsilat Finance (Malaysia).
2. Direla (South Africa).
3. Upesa (Nigeria).
4. Tedera (Romania).
5. Nia (Madagascar).

DLT for Operations:

1. Carboni Renewable Energy Certificate Platform (Egypt).
2. Building a Chain of Trust in the Green Power-to-X Market (USA).
3. RDZ Health (Zimbabwe).
4. Afiya (Nigeria).
5. W.A.T.A (Brazil).

Immersive Experiences:

1. Beyond Service Game (Nigeria).
2. Cryptonia CITY (Nigeria).
3. KeyRing (USA).
4. CryptoMage (India).

AI & DePIN:

1. Effisend X Africa (Mexico).
2. GreenAfrica (Nigeria).
3. Hedron (Morocco).
4. APIx: Intelligent Web3 Deployment Layer (Ivory Coast).

Speaking on the success of the hackathon, Kamal Youssefi, President of the Hashgraph Association, noted that the Hedera Africa Hackathon reached historic heights, scaling the depths of talent and ambition across the continent and beyond with the online participants.

He added that Hedera has a longstanding commitment to enabling global innovation and powering real utility, proven by the applications built this year spanning finance, sustainability, AI and DePIN verticals.

On the investment committee, he explained that it would nurture these developers long after the hackathon ends, empowering the next generation of builders.

The hackathon will return in 2026, with additional details on location, tracks, and partners to be released at a later date.

Dr. Paolo Tasca, Chairman at Exponential Science, explained that any strong, innovative, and responsible technical ecosystem begins with education, and that through this initiative, people have seen that approach materialize at scale, with participants advancing from learning to the development of meaningful infrastructure.

The Hedera Africa Hackathon included partners such as Sygnum Bank, Orange Digital Centers, and the Nairobi Securities Exchange, as well as Shamba Records, Hashgraph Online, and Swisscoast, alongside ecosystem and institutional partners Taylor Wessing, Rearden Digital Assets, and Object Computing, Inc.

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