Best AI SaaS Product
Build an AI-powered SaaS product that solves a real Nigerian business workflow. Must include AI features (generation, analysis, automation, or agent workflows), a working payment integration, and mobile-responsive design.
Quarterly Build Sprint
72 hours. Build something real. Prove it works.
The plan: Nigerian builders gather for a 72-hour online hackathon. Pick a real Nigerian problem, form a team, use AI tools, and put a working project live. Community-judged by working builders. What every builder walks away with is proof — a deployed project, a public repo, and a permanent badge in the library.
First hackathon planned for Q3 2026 — exact dates to be confirmed
Four tracks. Pick the one that fits what you want to build.
Each track has its own community judging panel and its own winner. One project wins Best Overall across all tracks.
Best Mobile-First Solution
Build for mobile-first Nigerian users. Must work on weak connections, support offline or low-data modes, and solve a real problem for people who reach the internet mostly through their phone.
Best Student Entry
Open to current university, polytechnic, or NYSC members. Any project type qualifies. Judged on how fast you learned, how clearly you documented, and how well you understood the problem — not raw technical complexity.
Best Community Impact
Build something that directly serves a community: education, healthcare, civic engagement, financial inclusion, agriculture, or accessibility. Judged on real-world feasibility and reach, not just clean code.
Friday 7 PM to Sunday 6 PM. Every hour counts.
The 72-hour format is built around the Nigerian builder's real week: Friday evening kickoff (after work or class), full Saturday build day, Sunday morning polish, afternoon demos, evening awards.
Friday — Kickoff
7:00 PM WATOpening Ceremony & Theme Reveal
The Builder Council announces the quarter's theme and problem statement. If any partners are confirmed by then, they get a short intro — we only name a partner once it is real. Rules, judging criteria, and submission requirements explained. Team formation for solo participants. Hackathon WhatsApp group opens.
8:00 PM WATHacking Begins
Teams start building. Mentors (alumni and Community Captains) are on hand in the hackathon WhatsApp group and Discord voice channels. AI tools (Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude Code) are explicitly allowed — but you must be able to explain every decision yourself.
Saturday — Build Day
12:00 PM WATMidpoint Check-in
Every team posts a progress update in the WhatsApp group: one screenshot, one sentence on what's working, one sentence on what's stuck. Mentors triage blockers. Teams behind on scope are told to cut features, not finish with nothing.
6:00 PM WATBuild-Faster Workshop
A 30-minute workshop run by an experienced community builder on shipping faster — topics like wiring up payments, deploying an AI feature, or getting more out of your AI tools. If a partner is confirmed to lead a session, we will say so by name once it is real. Optional but recommended.
10:00 PM WATEvening Check-in & Encouragement
Quick pulse check. A Community Captain posts encouragement. Reminder: scope down, get something working, sleep a few hours. The best hackathon projects are small and working, not ambitious and broken.
Sunday — Ship & Present
12:00 PM WATCode Freeze & Submission Deadline
Every team submits: (1) a deployed live URL, (2) a GitHub repo with README and AI-use disclosure, (3) a 2-minute demo video or slide deck, (4) a written project brief covering the problem, solution, stack, and how it could earn money. Late submissions are not accepted.
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM WATJudging Round 1: All Submissions Reviewed
Judges review all submissions against the public rubric. Top 10 projects advance to live demos. All participants receive a participant badge.
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM WATLive Demo Presentations
Top 10 teams present live (5 min demo + 3 min Q&A). Streamed on YouTube. Community votes (30% weight) + judge scores (70% weight).
6:00 PM WATClosing Ceremony & Recognition
Winners announced across all tracks. Badges and certificates awarded to every team. If a partner-backed prize pool is confirmed before the event, winners receive it here — we only commit to rewards we can actually deliver. Every submission goes into the VibeCoded Project Library as proof of what you built. The next hackathon date is shared.
Community-judged by working builders. Public rubric. Working code beats slides.
Entries are judged by working builders from the community against a rubric published before every hackathon. Every team knows exactly what the judges score. The rubric rewards real work: a working, deployed project scores higher than a beautiful slide deck.
Deployed & Working (25%)
Is there a live URL? Does the core feature actually work? Can a judge use it without you explaining? Working, deployed code counts more than slides.
Problem Understanding (20%)
Does the team understand the real Nigerian problem? Does the solution fit the user's actual context — mobile, data cost, language, payment method?
Technical Quality (20%)
Is the code reviewable? Is there a README? Is AI use disclosed? Are secrets handled right? Are there tests or manual test notes? Is the mobile layout usable?
Business Viability (20%)
Could this grow into a real product? Is the pricing plausible? Is the market real? Is there a way to reach users? Would a Nigerian customer actually pay for this?
Pitch & Presentation (15%)
Is the demo clear? Can the team explain what they built and why? Is the AI-use disclosure honest and specific? Does the team show understanding beyond the code?
Proof you can show anyone — and a prize pool we are working on.
The rewards we can promise today are the ones that do not depend on a partner: every participant leaves with something permanent — a badge, a certificate, and a project in the library. A cash prize pool is a target we are working toward, not a promise. We will confirm amounts here only once a partner commitment is real.
Track Winner (×4 tracks)
- Hackathon Champion badge (permanent)
- Profile on VibeCoded homepage for 30 days
- Invitation to present at Demo Day
- A share of the prize pool, if a partner-backed pool is confirmed (target amount, to be confirmed)
Runner-Up (×4 tracks)
- Hackathon Finalist badge (permanent)
- Profile feature in the weekly newsletter
- A share of the prize pool, if a partner-backed pool is confirmed (target amount, to be confirmed)
Best Overall (1 winner across all tracks)
- Best Overall badge (permanent)
- Featured case study on VibeCoded (with permission)
- Top billing in the Project Library and newsletter
- Highest share of the prize pool, if confirmed (target amount, to be confirmed)
All Participants
- Hackathon Participant badge (permanent)
- Digital certificate of participation
- Project added to VibeCoded Project Library
- Priority access to next hackathon registration
Partner slots are open. We will only name a sponsor once it is real.
No sponsor is confirmed yet, so there are no logos to show — and we will not invent any. These are the partner slots we are actively trying to fill. A partner can fund a prize pool, offer tooling credits, run a workshop, or help cover data. In return they get to see real, proven projects from Nigeria's most active builders.
Prize pool partner
Open slotFund a cash prize pool for track winners. Named here only once the commitment is real.
Tooling & credits partner
Open slotOffer cloud, deployment, or backend credits to builders. Named here only once the commitment is real.
Workshop & mentor partner
Open slotSend working engineers to run a build-faster workshop or mentor teams over the weekend.
Connectivity partner
Open slotHelp cover data for builders on tight internet so more of the community can take part.
Want to partner on a future hackathon? Help VibeCoded see what Nigeria's most active builders ship in a weekend.
Talk to us about partneringFair play. Full AI disclosure. Real, working projects.
- Teams of 1–4 builders. All team members must be VibeCoded community members.
- AI tools (Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Copilot) are allowed and encouraged. All AI use must be disclosed in the project README with a specific 'AI Use Note' section.
- All code must be written during the hackathon window. Pre-built projects, templates with substantial existing logic, and pre-written codebases are not allowed. Plain starter templates (create-next-app, etc.) are fine.
- Projects must be deployed and reachable at a public URL. Localhost URLs are not accepted.
- Submissions must include: live URL, GitHub repo with README and AI-use disclosure, 2-minute demo video or slide deck, and written project brief.
- Late submissions are not accepted. The submission form closes at 12:00 PM WAT Sunday — no exceptions.
- Judges' decisions are final. Rubric is published before the hackathon begins.
- No harassment, hate speech, or exclusionary behavior. Violations result in immediate disqualification and community removal.
Online-first, with in-person watch parties.
Why Online?
- Nigerian builders are spread across Lagos, Abuja, PH, Ibadan, Kano, Enugu, and beyond. A physical hackathon shuts out 80% of the community.
- The 72-hour online format lets you build from home, school, or a coworking space — no travel cost, no accommodation needed.
- If we secure a connectivity partner, data support would help builders on tight internet take part — we will only name a partner once it is real.
- Recorded sessions and async WhatsApp updates let builders with unstable power or internet catch up.
In-Person Watch Parties
- During each hackathon, Community Captains in Lagos, Abuja, and PH host optional watch parties at partner tech hubs.
- Watch parties give you a coworking space, stable internet, snacks, and in-person mentorship from captains.
- Can't reach a watch party? Join virtual coworking video rooms through the weekend.
- The closing ceremony streams live on YouTube with a WhatsApp watch-party chat for real-time reactions.
First Hackathon — Coming Q3 2026
The first VibeCoded hackathon runs in Q3 2026. This page is the permanent hackathon hub. After the first event, this section will feature the projects builders shipped, their stories, and sponsor highlights.
Be part of the first cohort. Join the community now for early access registration.