From February 26 to March 1, 2025, CodeXtreme 2025, Africa’s premier student hackathon, unfolded in Kigali. With 430 signups and 250 participants from the University of Rwanda, Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA), African Leadership University (ALU), Kigali Independent University (ULK), and Kepler, the four-day event showcased technology and problem-solving. Thanks to sponsors, mentors, and attendees, it succeeded.
The theme, ‘Build Things People Need: High-Value, High-Impact Solutions To Shape Communities,” challenged participants to create impactful, scalable solutions that address real-world problems. By March 1, 64 submissions emerged, including prototypes like L-Guard’s (winner) – a smart helmet system to enhance road safety for motorcyclists and bicyclists in Rwanda, Ndimension (first runner-up) – smartphone-based diagnostic tool that leverages artificial intelligence to enable non-specialists in low-resource settings to accurately diagnose multiple diseases using standard microscopy., and Sentra Safeguard’s GPS alerts (second runner-up). These solutions addressed real community needs.
Workshops on days two and three—Terence Jabo’s Flutter app-building session and a blockchain-for-social-good talk—paired with one-on-one mentorship, sharpened skills and projects.
CodeXtreme Ingenious, a nine-month incubator, will support the top 10 teams to launch startups, with funding efforts underway. CodeXtreme Trove will connect talent and projects to employers and investors. In July-August, CodeXtreme Summer of Code will train 60–90 high schoolers in Python, Flutter, and web tech, ending with their own hackathon.
The top 10 — spanning farming (Yeza Africa), healthcare (NovaCare), recycling (EcoX), and more — show Africa’s students are building the future. ALU’s strong showing underscores its role in tech innovation. CodeXtreme 2025 proved Africa’s tech future is here, driven by students solving real problems. The next steps—incubator, platform, summer program—aim to amplify that impact.
