About the Hackathon
The FORTIFIED Summit Hackathon is a high-impact challenge designed to showcase innovative tech solutions for real-world problems in education, business, and the evolving workforce. Participants will collaborate, build, and pitch transformative ideas that shape the future. For the evolving workforce, the Hackathon looks at how technology can help reskill job seekers and workers for the digital economy, improve job-matching systems, and create platforms that support gig and remote work while protecting freelancers’ rights. It also explores how soft skills, mentorship, and career guidance can be embedded into digital solutions to prepare young people for long-term career growth.
To ensure the best ideas are well-developed and impactful, the Hackathon will run in two key phases:
Phase 1: Ideation & UI/UX Design Presentation
Teams will do a virtual presentation of their concepts and UI/UX designs that clearly demonstrate their solution to the challenge (in Education, Business, or Workforce).
Phase 2: Final Development & Prototype Presentation
The shortlisted teams will proceed to develop working prototypes of their solutions during the summit for a final pitch.
FORTIFIED Summit Hackathon
Problem Areas & Challenge Statements
Africa’s education system struggles with outdated curricula, unequal access, poor infrastructure, and a gap between classroom learning and real-world skills. Technology adoption is low in public schools, and rural communities face even deeper challenges.
SMEs form the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, yet many face challenges such as poor access to finance, unreliable supply chains, limited market reach, and lack of digital adoption.
The world of work is shifting due to automation, AI, remote work, and global competition. Many Nigerian youths lack the skills or platforms to adapt to this future.
The challenge is to find scalable, low-cost solutions that can bridge development gaps, especially in low-internet or no-internet communities. It also emphasizes redesigning tools that will equip players with problem-solving, critical thinking, and digital skills, ensuring inclusivity for people with disabilities or those from marginalized areas. Another key focus is on empowerment—creating tools that simplify learning, development, and continuous growth in all 3 areas.
Awards & Recognition
The Hackathon is not just about competition, but also about celebrating innovation. Special awards will honor the most impactful, disruptive, and promising solutions. Beyond recognition, winners will receive mentorship, practical tools, and visibility opportunities that will help them grow their projects and scale their ideas beyond the summit.
The Hackathon will run across two action-packed days, giving participants the time and space to transform their ideas into real solutions.
On Day One, the energy begins to build as participants arrive at the venue by 11:00 AM for registration and onboarding. This first interaction sets the tone for collaboration and teamwork. At 12:00 PM, the event opens formally with a welcome address, where participants are introduced to the Hackathon rules, guidelines, and challenge statements. Immediately after, at 1:00 PM, the Hackathon officially kicks off.
Teams will dive straight into brainstorming, planning, and developing innovative solutions that address pressing issues in education, business, and the future of work. The remainder of the day is dedicated to focused collaboration, coding, prototyping, and problem-solving, with mentors available to guide participants along the way.
On Day Two, the atmosphere intensifies as the countdown to the final pitches begins. After a morning of refining projects and preparing presentations, the spotlight turns to The Deal Room between 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM. Here, teams will pitch their solutions to a panel of judges, showcasing not only their technical skills but also their ability to communicate vision, impact, and scalability. Judges will carefully evaluate each project based on innovation, feasibility, and relevance to the summit’s themes.
The Hackathon then concludes with a vibrant closing session that includes the announcement of award winners, networking among participants and industry leaders, and a celebration of the creativity and hard work demonstrated throughout the competition. This finale marks the culmination of two days of intense innovation, learning, and collaboration, leaving participants inspired and connected for the journey ahead.