Presenting CodeNaija: A hackathon hosted by Andela and GitHub’s Blacktocats
CodeNaija is a GitHub-led Hackathon where we hosted over 100 software engineers for over 30 hours of learning and passionate discussions about technology.
GitHub’s Black Employee Resource Group, Blacktocats, recently hosted our first hackathon event in Africa. Over 100 mid-level and senior software engineers attended the CodeNaija Hackathon 2019 event in Lagos, Nigeria, on Saturday and Sunday, October 26-27.
The Blacktocats’ mission is to attract and empower Black lives in tech. According to our recent Octoverse Report, Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing open source communities (by projects) in the world. We wanted to highlight this community of developers by promoting their fantastic talent and showcasing their work.
Understanding the community ecosystem
Ahead of the hackathon, we hosted a developer roundtable that focused on developers and social impact organizations. We partnered with market entry firm Ingressive to bring over 20 developers and social good “techprenuers” to help with the discussion. Ultimately, we wanted to connect with the developer community in Lagos to understand the ecosystem and answer questions about our work at GitHub. During the discussion, we were excited to have attendees that included the organizers of GitGirl and GirlsCoding, who work to bring adult women and young girls, respectively, into the tech industry.
The CodeNaija Hackathon was highly anticipated, with more than 800 developers applying for one of only 100 spots to attend. In the end, 80 participants across 19 teams devoted over 30 hacking hours to deliver the best technological solution to a social issue in Nigeria.
Take a look behind the scenes of the Code Naija Hackathon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMID_SxzIKw&feature=youtu.b
Thank you
We partnered with talent accelerator Andela to recruit attendees and help make the hackathon a reality. We also received support from our sponsors Flutterwave, Microsoft, and M12 who provided input, funding, and prizes.
We’re incredibly thankful for our partners and participants. We couldn’t have done this without you.
Learn more about the CodeNaija Hackathon
Tags:
Written by
Related posts
Completing urgent fixes anywhere with GitHub Copilot coding agent and mobile
Unlock the full potential of the GitHub platform. See how Copilot coding agent and GitHub Mobile combine to help you tackle development tasks and urgent fixes, no matter where you are.
Rediscovering joy in learning: Jason Lengstorf on the state of development
We sit down with Jason Lengstorf on the GitHub Podcast, where he shares his perspective on education, AI, open source, and more.
Why developer expertise matters more than ever in the age of AI
AI can help you code faster, but knowing why the code works—and sharpening your human-in-the-loop skills—is what makes you a great developer.