MinT Representative
Guest Speaker
Speaker announcement coming soon.
Applications closed
One hackathon for every AI founder
Ethiopia's largest AI hackathon. Two days at the Adwa Museum where 60 teams turn ideas into startups, with credits, mentors, and investors in the room.
Applications closedMeet the teams
TeamsJudgingSubmissionsResults
The venue
Adwa Victory Memorial
July 25–26, 2026Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
CursorMinTEthio telecomAddis AIElevenLabsFalWhisperflowAAU StartupsGheeroAdwa Victory Memorialinnobiz-KCursorMinTEthio telecomAddis AIElevenLabsFalWhisperflowAAU StartupsGheeroAdwa Victory Memorialinnobiz-K
02 / Guest Speakers
Voices worth hearing.
Keep scrolling, the lineup unfolds as you go.
Speaker 01 / 03
MinT Representative
Guest Speaker
Speaker announcement coming soon.
Speaker 02 / 03
Ethio telecom Representative
Guest Speaker
Speaker announcement coming soon.
Ethio telecom Representative
Guest Speaker
Speaker announcement coming soon.
Speaker 03 / 03
Dr. Yoseph Beko
Director, Adwa Museum
Leading the institution preserving and sharing the history of Adwa.
Dr. Yoseph Beko
Director, Adwa Museum
Leading the institution preserving and sharing the history of Adwa.
03 / The Panelists
The conversation on stage.
Mohammed
Panel Moderator
Leading the conversation on stage.
Selamyhun Adefris Haile
CEO, Innovation Development at MiNT
Innovation and startup ecosystem leader.
Betelhem Dessie
CEO, gheero
Technology entrepreneur and education advocate.
Yabebal Fantaye
Co-Founder and Scientific Director, 10 Academy
Researcher and entrepreneur working across AI, science, and education.
Nael Hailemariam
Co-Founder and CEO, Chapa
Fintech founder building payments infrastructure for Ethiopia.
04 / Community Partners & More
Meet the people backing builders.
Meet the organizations supporting Ethiopia's next generation of founders.
More organizations will be announced soon.
01
Kazana Group
Representative
02
Ethiopian Youth Entrepreneurs Association
Representative
01 / The Jury
Meet the jury.
Your project lands in front of builders who know exactly what it takes to go from idea to product. Impress them.
18 jury members
Jury 01
Dagmawi Esayas (Babi)
Jury
Creative developer, founder of ScholarXIV, and developer community builder.
Tadesse Anbesi
Jury
Startups Support Team Lead at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ethiopia.
Bekele Haile
Jury
Software development expert.
Tamrat Teklemarkos
Jury
Bezawit Kassaye
Jury
Local project advisor for startup ecosystem enhancement and project coordinator for digital ICT evaluation.
Dawit Samuel
Jury
Jury 02
Biniyam Daniel
Jury · Co-founder, Addis AI
Co-founder of Addis AI, building AI products for Ethiopian languages and users.
Bethlehem Abrham
Jury
Binyam Minybel
Jury
Software developer at Ethio telecom · CTO and founder at StriveIn.
Jury 03
Abiy Tadesse
Jury
Head of Innobiz-K Ethiopia Incubation Center and startup & innovative enterprise development expert.
Wendwesen Endale
Jury
Digital innovation expert, knowledge management and communications specialist, and lecturer.
Dagmawi Belete
Jury
UIX product lead and software developer.
Mathilda Geovani
Jury
Jury 04
Mr. Negede Yisihak Tesemma
Jury
Startup support and incubation program lead at Innobiz-K Center under the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT).
Yomuma Likessa
Jury
Venture builder and ecosystem operator.
Temkin Mengistu (Chapi)
Jury
Senior software engineer and tech lead at Snapwre, with a focus on building and supporting developer communities.
Bereket Shimekit
Jury
Co-founder and managing director at StriveIn · Tech entrepreneur.
Lidetu Tadesse
Jury
With gratitude
A special thank you.
From the global Cursor team, the person who quietly made so much of this possible.
Fawziyah
Cursor Community Ops · Cursor Team
Fawziyah went above and beyond for us, guiding, unblocking, and championing this community at every turn. So much of what happened here would not have been possible without her. Thank you, Fawziyah.
02 / The Organizers
The team that made it possible.
The people running the floor, the inbox, and the late-night ops so builders can focus on shipping.
Alpha Lencho
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
Zufan Gebrehiwot
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
Tsion Mekasha
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
Abreham Kifle
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
Aman Tesfahunagen
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
Natnael Eskinder
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
Mahlet Asrat
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
Meklit Asrat
Ethiopia Cursor Community Team
// The Mission
Not just a hackathon. A launchpad for AI startups.
Over 24 hours, 60 teams turn idea-stage startup concepts into working MVPs, real problems, clear users, and teams ready to build fast. Not polished products. Fresh ideas worth funding.
Idea-stage only
This is our main screening criteria. Come with a problem worth solving, a clear vision, and the energy to build an MVP over two days, we take it from there.
Idea → MVP
60 teams of 5
Solo? We match you by skills and interests. Pre-formed teams were coordinated with a shared 10-digit group code.
AI credits included
CursorElevenLabsAddis AIFalWhisperflow
Zero barriers
Food throughout, mentorship on the floor, and support start to finish, so you can focus on building.
Beyond the weekend
Incubation, workspace, and follow-up support for promising teams, not just a pitch deck.
Startup support partners
Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MinT)
Ethio telecom
Addis Ababa University Startup Center
Gheero
Come with an idea.
Leave with a startup.
July 25–26 at the Adwa Museum. Applications are closed and the selected teams are getting ready to build.
Applications closed
See you at Adwa Museum 🇪🇹