The 2020 AR/VR Africa Hackathon has ended. Hackers across the African continent created innovative solutions using extended reality technologies.

 

LAGOS, NIGERIA - The 2020 AR/VR Africa Hackathon themed Africa in Sight - Our Future in XR was held from August to December 2020. A total of 64 teams from 28 African countries participated in online and offline grand finales, with 27 teams winning cash prizes for their XR solutions. The hackathon was made possible by sponsorship from Facebook.

 

The Hackathon had over 1000 participants from 28 different African countries with the highest number from Nigeria. Approximately 23% were female, and several student teams were also formed. To increase their knowledge and XR skills before the grand finale participants had access to curated XR learning resources alongside masterclasses, workshops, and mentorship sessions on the hackathon Discord server.

 

Notable amongst the 27 winning teams are the 1st place winners from different country grand finales.  Team Relu, from Ghana, created a VR game to educate players about Ghana’s history. The Mozambican team, Tech Lab Hack, created an AR app that helps pupils learn their numbers. The Lymz, from Tunisia, created ‘Therapeia’, a VR experience targeted at people with mental healthcare needs, for use by both therapists and patients. South African team, Group 2, created ‘Edutainment’, an educational solution to move users from traditional to interactive learning environments where multiple subjects can be learned through problem-solving. 

 

Mind Can Hack, Rwanda’s 1st place team, created an AR game to drive tourism by challenging users to find digital grails in tourist sites. The Senegalese team, Amamirenas, created an interactive VR hide and seek game, a throwback to childhood, to promote cultural diversity. It allows in-app purchases with the currency, Petaws. E-warriors, from Cameroon, created an educational solution for learning through gaming in a virtual chemistry laboratory. Farm YLD, the winner from Africa Online (a competitive category for hackers in locations not covered by our country partners) created a solution that forecasts the impact of climate change on farmland yield. 

 

Team Unlimited came 1st in Nigeria and won the hackathon’s Best Team prize. Their AR solution provides immersive educational content tailored to the government-approved curriculum. It was a close finish with A41, the 1st place winner in Egypt; they created an interactive VR Arabic language solution to teach users human anatomy. Team Hewa, the 1st place winner in Kenya, won the hackathon’s Best Student Team prize. Their AR solution visualizes the amount of air pollution at the user’s location and provides health recommendations.

 

Judith, the convener of AR/VR Africa, had this to say, “it’s incredible to see the growth of the hackathon across the continent, especially during a pandemic. Our incredible country partners made this all possible, devising innovative ways to attract and engage participants during a particularly challenging time. We also had the support of a stellar group of facilitators, XR experts from around the world who contributed their time to mentor participants and host learning sessions. ”

 

To ensure the potential of these incredible hacks is realized, AR/VR Africa is organizing a 2-month Bootcamp for the 1st place winners. The Bootcamp will prepare the teams to advance their solutions and create MVPs to attract investors. Team Hewa, the best student team, will also go on to participate in the 2021 Laval Virtual Global Student Hackathon in France.

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