A festival Experience at Codefest Nigeria Hackathon 2025+ A Guinness world record edition
The Codefest Nigeria Hackathon 2025 returned this year with the most thrilling experiences of any tech journey so far! It kicked off on October 1st, 2025, a special day that also marked Nigeria’s Independence Day—making the celebration of innovation and national pride even more meaningful. With 100+ incredible teams and 20+ mentors participating in the intro (pre-hack day), the energy and creativity in the air were unmatched.
The problems to provide solutions for was cut across 6 categories and 24 real problems in Nigeria that each participating teams are expected to build their tech solutions up to prototype level during the hackathon. The 6 thematic problem areas for this year Hackathon – Fintech, agriculture, health, education, climate change and open innovation.
From the very beginning, it was clear that this was going to be an unforgettable week.
Day 1: Kickoff & Inspiration
The first day was all about setting the tone. Teams were introduced live on YouTube, sharing their exciting ideas and tech-driven solutions. The event began with welcome remarks and an inspiring keynote from various mentors (Dr Adesina Adewale, fellow Computer Society’s of Nigeria; Ernest Ogueri from Germany; Morgan Victor, Cofounder of Codefest; Dr Adekunbi Omotoso, CEO Apps&Scripts, Gideon Sunday, of Gideon Mandate and others. Teams were introduced to the rules, judging criteria, submission process via GitHub, and the THEME culture of Codefest Nigeria Hackathon 2025 vision— “Build for Nigeria.”
One of the best moments of the day was the icebreaker activity, where teams pitched their ideas in just two minute. It was fascinating to see such creativity packed into short bursts. There was also team bonding activities that helped build community from day one.
Day 2: Hackathon Officially Begins
This was when the real work started. Teams moved from idea to execution, making their first commits on GitHub. In the morning, a live-streamed mini-workshop helped participants break their big ideas into actionable MVPs (Minimum Viable Products). Mentors joined in the evening for a live Q&A session, offering guidance to teams that were facing any roadblocks.
Day 3: Building and Learning
Momentum picked up on Day 3 with an exciting technical workshop. Participants chose from two tracks— AI (using APIs and datasets) or Web/App prototyping using technologies like React, Node.js, Python, and Laravel. It was amazing to see how quickly ideas were turning into real applications. In the afternoon, a mid-week GitHub leaderboard was released, showcasing the teams with the most commits and progress.
The day ended with a thoughtful fireside chat on project sustainability, discussing how to make these innovations live on even after the hackathon ends.
Day 4: Midpoint Check
Day 4 was all about accountability and motivation. Mentors came in to give feedback and encouragement to the teams. It was great to hear their insights on how we could improve our projects. You could feel the fire in everyone’s hearts—the determination to push further and build something meaningful.
Day 5 & 6: Final Push and Reflections
By Day 5, not all teams had made it this far, but those who remained were more determined than ever. The quality of presentations and progress blew everyone away. On Day 6, mentors returned to share their experiences and offered personal reflections. Participants also opened up about what they had learned so far and how the hackathon had impacted them.
Day 7: Grand Finale
The final day was a celebration of hard work, creativity, and collaboration. The president of Codefest Africa, Moss Uromtah gave a powerful closing speech that left us all inspired. Mentors wrapped up the event with final words of encouragement, and we all felt a deep sense of accomplishment—regardless of the outcomes. We had all grown, learned, and contributed to something bigger than ourselves.
Conclusion
Codefest live (7 days online) Hackathon 2025 was more than just a competition; it was a display of innovation, community, and the incredible potential of young tech minds. From the first pitch to the final presentation, it was an unforgettable ride filled with learning, growth, and connection. We can’t wait to see what happens in the public voting and jury in the unfolding days with the award/expo event in view on November 20th —It promises to be bigger, better, and even more inspired!
