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Build Build challenge Competition Intermediate Active

AFRICODERS BUILD CHALLENGE #1

Build something useful. Ship it. Get discovered.

Prize pool: ₦400,000

Aug 22 – Sep 30, 2026 · declared prizes — staff pick winners; payout is recorded out of band.

1st Place
₦200,000
2nd Place
₦120,000
3rd Place
₦50,000
Community Choice
₦30,000
build africa ship builder-profile
Starts
Aug 21, 2026
Ends
Sep 30, 2026

How it works

  1. 1. Complete your Builder Profile

    Public username, headline, bio, role, skills, and avatar so other builders can find you.

  2. 2. Build your project

    Create or select a public Builder Project — the work itself is the proof.

  3. 3. Submit your work

    Attach that project to this challenge. Joining alone is not the achievement.

  4. 4. Get discovered

    Your Builder Project stays on your public Builder Profile as proof of work other builders can find.

Build challenge

Participate in this challenge

Work through each step here — profile, join, project, and submission — without leaving this page.

Sign in to join and submit your work.

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About the challenge

Africoders Build Challenge #1 is a public Build-layer challenge: ship a small, useful product between 24 August and 30 September 2026, attach it to your Builder Profile, and get discovered by the network. This is not an Academy course, scholarship, or paid programme. Completing it does not grant Academy Premium, certificates, or Education Fund awards.

What to build

Anything useful for people in Africa — a web or mobile app, API, developer or AI tool, automation, educational or productivity product, business tool, or community product. Scope small. Finish it. A working slice beats an unfinished platform.

Who can participate

Anyone with an Africoders account and a sufficiently completed public Builder Profile at /in/{username}. You do not need Academy Premium, a paid course, or a scholarship. Instructors and staff may not judge their own submission.

How it works

1. Open this challenge and join. 2. Complete your public Builder Profile if anything is missing. 3. Create or select a Builder project. 4. Submit that project before the end date. 5. Discuss progress on this challenge's public thread. 6. Staff judges score against the published criteria. Community Choice is recorded by staff after the challenge closes — it does not override judging.

Builder Profile requirement

Complete your Builder Profile to participate. We reuse the existing Builder checklist: display name / username, headline, bio, location, builder role, skills, avatar, and onboarding — plus a public profile so other builders can find you. GitHub or a personal site is recommended, not mandatory. If something is missing we will tell you what to finish and bring you back here. We will not silently reject you.

Submission requirements

Required: - A sufficiently completed public Africoders Builder Profile - A real Builder project (not a duplicate listing) - Project title and description - Explanation of the problem being solved - Technologies used - Working demo or usable output where applicable - Source repository where applicable Recommended: - Screenshots - Short demo - README / documentation Do not submit an empty repo, a placeholder, or someone else's work as your own.

Judging criteria

Staff with challenge judging permission score each valid submission: - Problem / usefulness — 30% - Execution — 25% - Technical quality — 20% - UX / design — 15% - Originality — 10% Total = 100%. Criterion breakdowns stay internal. Aggregate scores follow the existing challenge leaderboard once recorded.

Prize breakdown

Total prize pool: ₦400,000 (declared configuration only — this product does not pay out). - 1st Place — ₦200,000 - 2nd Place — ₦120,000 - 3rd Place — ₦50,000 - Community Choice — ₦30,000 Community Choice is a declared prize category. Public contest voting is not enabled in this release; staff record the recipient after the challenge using the existing judging outcome. Reactions on this page are community engagement, not contest votes, and never override formal judging.

Timeline

Building starts Monday 24 August 2026 and ends 30 September 2026 (Africa/Lagos). Join and submit while the challenge is open. Results and winner badges are recorded only after an administrator saves judging outcomes.

Rules

One participation per person. One project submission per person (you may update your own submission while the challenge is open and unjudged). Submit your own work. Credit collaborators. No fake users, votes, or submissions. Do not harass other participants. Staff may hide or disqualify abusive submissions using existing moderation tools. Prizes are announced configuration only in this product. Payout is out of band and is never processed here.

FAQ

Do I need to pay? No. Joining this challenge does not require Academy Premium, a course purchase, or Paystack. Do I get a certificate? Not from this challenge. Proof of work is your public Builder project and, if you qualify, a participation badge after a valid submission. Can I submit a school assignment? Yes if it is a real, usable product you built and it lives on your Builder portfolio. When are winners announced? After staff record outcomes — never automatically from votes or account creation.

Judging criteria

  • Problem / usefulness 30%
  • Execution 25%
  • Technical quality 20%
  • UX / design 15%
  • Originality 10%

Criterion breakdowns stay internal. Reactions are engagement, not contest votes. Community Choice is staff-recorded.

Challenge discussion

Ask questions, share progress, give feedback, and collaborate. This uses the existing public challenge thread — not a private course community.

Open discussion