On April 29, The Hashgraph Association (THA) and Exponential Science announced the winners of the 2025 Hedera Africa Hackathon, calling it the largest Web3 hackathon to date. The event drew over 45,000 participants across 20 African hubs and online platforms, plus 13,000 developers, generating more than 1,300 project submissions.
All projects leveraged Hedera's distributed ledger technology to tackle infrastructure challenges in emerging markets. The $1 million prize pool was split into four tracks: on-chain finance and real-world assets; DLT for operations; immersive experiences; and AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN).
Greenafrica Takes Top Honors
Nigeria-based environmental verification platform Greenafrica won the top “cross-track champion” prize of $100,000. The platform enables transparent tracking of sustainability initiatives, making green projects verifiable and trustworthy.
“The Hedera Africa Hackathon reached historic heights, scaling the depths of talent and ambition across the continent and beyond,” said Kamal Youssefi, president of THA. “Hedera has a longstanding commitment to enabling global innovation and powering real utility.” Egypt's Carboni Renewable Energy Certificate Platform took second place overall, while Mexico's Effisend X Africa — an AI-powered payment routing system — took third. Organizers noted that 2025 submissions shifted toward pragmatic infrastructure, including cross-network payment systems and secure medical record management.
Investment Committee Launched
Concurrent with the awards, THA announced the formation of a new investment committee. The body will provide multi-million-dollar commitments to strategic partnerships, offering capital and mentorship to developers in emerging markets. “Any strong, innovative and responsible technical ecosystem begins with education,” said Paolo Tasca, executive chairman at Exponential Science. “We have seen that approach materialize at scale, with participants advancing from learning to the development of meaningful infrastructure.”
The hackathon was co-funded by THA and Exponential Science in partnership with Orange Digital Center, operated by Dar Blockchain. Supporting partners included Sygnum Bank and the Nairobi Securities Exchange. THA confirmed the event will return in 2026, with location and track details to be announced later.