Saucecode Hackathon 2020 is open to Nigerian and Kenyan developers and designers

Nigerian and Kenyan developers can now apply for the 2020 Findworka's Saucecode Hackathon.

Unlike the previous two editions, this year's Saucecode Hackathon will convene developers, designers and product managers from across Nigeria and Kenya. Interested participants are expected to form a team of three or four people (including at least one female) to build solutions for agribusiness, education, fintech and health. The prototype of the solution must be submitted before October 15.

Teams that successfully submit their prototype would get a voting link to share and 50 teams with the highest votes would move to the next stage, according to Saucecode. Out of the 50 teams, based on various criteria, 20 finalist teams will be selected. These finalists will then be mentored to pitch at the grand finale to judges in Nigeria and Kenya.

The 2020 Saucecode Hackathon is scheduled to be a three-week remote hackathon. Two winning teams will emerge from Nigeria and Kenya, respectively. Every member of the winning team will receive a Macbook Pro, hosting credits from Simplifyd, and be matched with placement opportunities on Findworka Pro.

How to win the 2020 Saucecode Hackathon

Seun Daramola Faluyi, former product manager at Babban Gona, has identified steps participants in this year's remote Hackathon can take to increase their chances of winning. Seun's team, Team Fire, was a finalist at the maiden edition of Saucecode Hackathon.

Team Fire built a platform where students and other stakeholders can anonymously review schools and their management. But Team Wevote, which built a platform for citizen mobilization, won the 2018 Saucecode Hackathon.

Seun said: "We lost because we focused more on trying to use technologies we’ve learnt lately rather than putting our focus on building a product that satisfies a market need".

In addition to following the rules of engagement set by Findworka, and subsequent suggestions from mentors, the lessons learnt by Team Fire are invaluable:

• There is no product without a user.
• Never get sucked up with your code as a developer, try to understand what the need of a market is before you even get to work.
• Yes, you’ve learnt how to use five javascript libraries in the last two months, keep it simple, use only what is necessary.
• Try to get non-technical people to test your product rather than fellow tech guys, keep in mind the market you’re building for.
• I cannot say this enough, let the features of your product be the solution to a problem.

About Saucecode Hackathon

Saucecode Hackathon is an offshoot of Saucecode that was launched by Findworka in 2017. Findworka is a talent company that provides engineering as a service and connect African tech talents to opportunities.

Speaking at the 2019 Saucecode Hackathon grand finale, the CEO of Findworka, Dele Bakare, said: "Saucecode is a community where developers, entrepreneurs and designers alike could come together to collaborate, get answers to questions and build something together. It also provides a platform where discussions can be held and developers can see gigs and jobs available".

Saucecode Hackathon aims to discover and celebrate the finest tech talents in Africa, according to Findworka. "It was conceived to challenge the talents in our ecosystem, encourage programming best practices, promote collaboration, make new role models out of the very best and put Africa on the global IT map".

Last year, the winning team was Team YouDefine. They built a web rating system designed to help students and individuals evaluate tertiary institutions. (Akin to University Compass).

Two years ago, a team of four former Andela developers won the first edition of the Hackathon. Team We Vote, comprising of Ignatius Ukwoma, Nnenanya Obinna Kingsley, Silm Month and Victor Enogwe, built a platform for citizen mobilization ahead of the 2019 Elections.