Absa Teams Build Real-World Banking Solutions in 24 Hours at 2025 Technology Hackathon

Three Absa Technology teams have emerged as winners of the 2025 Absa Technology Hackathon, having had only 24 hours to develop prototype solutions with the potential to be integrated into the bank’s technology and product portfolio.

Designed to surface innovation from within the bank’s own ranks, the Hackathon is an annual challenge that allows Absa Technology employees to create digital solutions to real-world business problems. This year’s theme, Ignite the Future: Innovate. Accelerate. Elevate invited teams to think boldly about how Absa can deliver greater customer value through technology.

“The Hackathon reflects the kind of culture we’re building at Absa, where innovation is a mindset shared across the organisation as we work toward our ambition of becoming a digitally powered business,” said Johnson Idesoh, Absa Group Chief Information and Technology Officer. “It’s about empowering our teams to think boldly, collaborate across borders, and develop solutions that advance our customer, client, and colleague experience and embed purpose-led technology at the heart of everything we do.”

The 2025 Hackathon drew entries from 82 teams across the Group’s Technology team. After a rigorous shortlisting process, the top 36 teams were selected to participate in a 36-hour live “Hackerverse” experience hosted from 28 October, with participants representing multiple countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique, Mauritius, and the Czech Republic.

Over a 24-hour development sprint, teams built working prototypes under intense time pressure before pitching their solutions to a panel of judges. Winners were selected in each of the three challenge categories: Commercialisation of Fast-Tracked Ideas, AI for Impact, and Blue Sky.

• ‘The Solvers’, from Zambia, took top honours in the Commercialisation of Fast-Tracked Ideas
• ‘Mighty Pythons’, from South Africa, won the AI for Impact category
• ‘Hustle Hub’, from South Africa, and ‘Digital Islanders’, from Mauritius, were both awarded the Blue-Sky

Each winning team member received R25,000 in Absa Rewards or the cash equivalent in local currency.

The Hackathon forms part of Absa’s broader focus on developing homegrown solutions and creating pathways for digital talent within the organisation. Guided by its purpose, Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together… one story at a time, Absa continues to explore how technology can expand access to financial services, drive inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked, and improve customer experiences across the continent.

“The competition is a celebration of collaboration, diversity, and the relentless pursuit of better ways to serve our customers, clients, and colleagues,” said Idesoh. “The winning ideas will now move into the next stage of validation and development, with a view to implementation within the business. I’m incredibly proud of every team that took part. Their creativity and execution have raised the bar for what’s possible.”

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