Tech talent factory, Findworka is currently receiving applications from designers, developers and project managers for its Saucecode Hackathon 2020.
Unlike last year’s edition which featured only Nigerian participants, the Saucecode hackathon 2020 will feature teams from both Nigeria and Kenya. Saucecode hackathon is a subsidiary brand of Findworka’s Saucecode, an open community of African software developers.
Speaking to Technext on the hackathon, Findworka Chief Operations Officer (COO), Wilfred Ekpo said:
This is the third edition. This year we are having teams not just from Nigeria but also Kenya. We have announced the problem statements on the website, teams should register then build their prototype in response to the listed challenges in four (4) weeks.
“Another thing we are trying to do is to promote diversity so every team must have at least a male and a female,” he added.
Asked if there was a target number of female participants, Wilfred said, “The most important thing is that both genders are represented. There are many employers for example that have asked us specifically for women developers because there aren’t enough of them.”
About Saucecode Hackathon
Findworka is partnering with Simplifyd and Talent Bridge Kenya to stage its first virtual Saucecode hackathon in 2020. Nigerian and Kenyan developers/designers can register for the Saucecode Hackathon 2020 here.
Each participating team must not have more than 4 developers. The team lead has to register on the Saucecode website and onboard other team members.
Teams are required to build their applications to solve problems listed in the areas of Healthcare, Education and Finance. Each team may choose to develop a solution that enables students anonymously report cases of sexual abuse, build an app that helps aged and less educated people use mobile money services, among others.
Findworka says it expects to receive applications from up to 500 teams of 2,000 developers across Nigeria and Kenya.
In March 2018, the maiden edition of the Saucecode hackathon took place, with Team Wevote (Ignatius Ukwuoma, Momoh Slim, Obinna Kingsley and Victor Enogwe) winning the event. Last year, the winner was Team YouDefine which designed Edurate, a web rating system to enable students and individuals evaluate tertiary institutions.
The winning teams’ challenge has been with funding their prototypes. We try to support them with product designs as well as help them and other participating developers with recruitment opportunities.
Findworka Chief Operations Officer (COO), Wilfred Ekpo
He also explained that the Findworka is looking to take its hackathon event to South Africa, Ghana and Uganda as well as cover up to 10 African countries on the whole in the coming years.
Summary
Teams that submit a first stage prototype before the deadline will proceed to the next round where users can start voting. The top 5 teams with the highest votes will then compete against each other by pitching to the judges at the finals.
Judges for the Saucecode Hackathon 2020 in Nigeria include Tomi Amao, CEO Eyowo and Simplifyd as well as Aniedi Udo-Obong, Program Manager at Google.
The grand finale is scheduled to take place on November 27, 2020. Each member of the winning teams from Nigeria and Kenya will receive a Macbook pro, hosting credits from Simplifyd and priority placement matching within the Findworka talent pool.
