Over 5000 Kenyans Express Interest in NIRU’s National AI Hackathon

Kenya has taken a decisive leap forward in strengthening its technological future, following an unprecedented national response to the National AI Hackathon 2025. The more than 5,656 registrations and 2,467 proposal submissions mark a historic moment for the country, demonstrating its rapidly growing innovation culture and the public’s strong appetite for AI-driven problem solving.

In October, the National Intelligence and Research University (NIRU) launched a national AI Hackathon, calling on Kenyans to register and submit entries to develop homegrown artificial intelligence solutions to address the country’s most pressing socio-economic and security challenges.

“The exceptional response shows that Kenya possesses not just talent, but an eager generation ready to design intelligent solutions that advance national prosperity and security. We will incubate the top innovators, mentoring and supporting them to turn their ideas into real-world impact,” said Dr James Kibon, Vice Chancellor, NIRU.

The hackathon invited Kenyans across all ages and professions to develop AI-driven solutions in key areas including cybersecurity, sustainable development, governance, public policy, and homegrown generative AI. The response cuts across counties, institutions, industries, and age groups, underscoring national unity around innovation and problem-solving.

The technical evaluation team has begun sorting and screening the 2,467 entries to identify complete submissions and prepare them for the formal judging phase. Of these proposals, the distribution is as follows: Sustainable Development-189, Security and Policing-215, Cybersecurity-191, Governance & Policy-163, Generative and Agentic AI-184, with the remaining entries falling under assorted general categories.

Over the coming weeks, expert evaluators will assess the proposals and shortlist top innovators who will enter the prototyping and mentorship phase ahead of the national showcase.

The competition features one of the country’s most significant prize pools, including KSh 2 million for the top team and KSh 1 million for the top individual finalist, alongside other category prizes. Winning solutions will also receive incubation and mentorship support to help transform ideas into deployable innovations.

The initiative is spearheaded by NIRU, in partnership with leading academic institutions and private-sector players, including the United States International University–Africa (USIU-Africa), Strathmore University, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Open University of Kenya, the Communication Authority of Kenya, Equity Bank, KCB and Safaricom.

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