Empiras Global unveiled AfriHack 2026, the third national innovation hackathon, run in partnership with 4OnPritchard, the Digital Skills for Jobs and Income II (DS4JI II) project, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and with UVU Africa.
AfriHack 2026 will be held in two cities: Johannesburg (4–6 September) at the CAPACITI Hub in Braamfontein, and Cape Town (18–20 September) at UVU Africa, Brickfield Canvas, in Woodstock.
The events will bring together young digital talent nominated by public and private universities, TVET colleges and digital skills programmes across South Africa, and young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), including those recruited through the DS4JI II project network.
The three-day event begins with a Corporate Day of keynote speeches, panels and an industry exhibition, paired with mock interviews where employers give direct feedback to students, providing a much-needed bridge between potential employers and youth in search of opportunities.
This is followed by a 24-hour hackathon in which teams work on a real business challenge co-designed with industry partners and supported by technical mentors. The event wraps up with presentations to an industry judging panel, an awards ceremony and a pathways session on enrolment, certification, scholarships and study-abroad opportunities.
THREE YEARS OF BUILDING A PIPELINE, NOT A COMPETITION
Since its inception, AfriHack has expanded from a one-city meetup into a two-city national programme that creates a clear pathway into the labour market. It has also expanded beyond traditional universities, to include TVET colleges and Digital Accelerator programmes.
Participants receive a certificate recognised by DS4JI II’s partner employers, priority referral to the DS4JI II Ikamva Digital programme, and direct contact with employers on Corporate Day. Catering for all three days is provided free to participants and their institutions.
“AfriHack, now in its third year, has grown not just in attendance but in the lasting impact on participants”, said Gugu Ntuli, CEO of Empiras Global. “The programme combines digital training with work-readiness; participants pitch to panels, undergo real employer interviews and tackle live business briefs, leading many to secure jobs that strengthen the country’s digital workforce.
Equally important, some attendees have launched their own businesses after mentorship from founders at AfriHack, producing young Africans who are both employable and able to create employment for others”, she concluded.
“South Africa’s financial services industry continues to lag in modernising the mundane, day-to-day operational tasks that quietly drain productivity across the sector — and too often, the solutions we adopt are imported rather than built for our own market realities. AfriHack Series 2026 gives us a rare opportunity to look inward instead of outward: to challenge young, digitally skilled South Africans to solve these everyday operational bottlenecks themselves, rather than defaulting to solutions developed elsewhere. We’re proud to support a platform that positions local youth talent not as consumers of financial technology, but as its future architects.”
Qiniso Ntuli, Managing Director, Royal Square Investments.
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