Students Build AI Tools for Farmers and Urban Planners in Africa
A 24-hour AI hackathon hosted by Qhala, Huawei, and Konza Technopolis during Africa AI Literacy Week has led to the development of practical AI solutions focused on agriculture and infrastructure, underscoring the role of emerging technology in addressing local development challenges.
Held in Nairobi, with remote participation from universities across Africa, including Moi University, the event brought together 50 student participants who were challenged to build AI-powered solutions in five key sectors: Agriculture, Fintech, Healthcare, Education, and Governance.
The top prize went to a team that developed an AI platform to predict market prices for agricultural products. By integrating historical pricing, real-time market data, and weather forecasts, the tool is designed to support smallholder farmers, traders, and financial institutions in making better-informed decisions. Organisers say it could help reduce price volatility, minimise exploitation, and improve farmer incomes.
“The winning solution has the potential to make a real difference for farmers who often operate without reliable market information,” said Dr. Shikoh Gitau, CEO of Qhala. “This is exactly the kind of context-aware innovation that Africa needs, rooted in real challenges and created by local talent.”
Two teams tied for second place. One built a multilingual AI chatbot that delivers personalised farming advice, including pest management, crop rotation, and yield forecasting, based on real-time data collected from farms. The tool is designed to work offline, making it accessible in low-connectivity areas.
The other team created a mobile application that combines AI and augmented reality (AR) to offer insights on infrastructure. Originally designed for urban settings, the app was adapted to agriculture, offering visual overlays for farm buildings, irrigation layouts, and storage systems.
“These projects show the depth of potential within Africa’s student community,” said Josephine Ndambuki, Chief Manager for Business Development and Innovation at Konza Technopolis. “The participants didn’t just learn about AI, they applied it to pressing issues with creativity and precision.”
All three teams received Huawei devices to support further development: tablets for the top team and smartwatches for the runners-up.
Mentors from academia, industry, Huawei’s technical team, and Konza Technopolis provided guidance throughout the hackathon, supporting participants through ideation, prototyping, and pitching. Organisers noted that the collaborative environment encouraged rapid learning and cross-disciplinary thinking.
“Huawei is committed to building digital skills across Africa, and this hackathon reflects what’s possible when students are given the tools, mentorship, and platform to create,” said Adam Lane, Director for Policy and Partnerships at Huawei Kenya. “Some of these ideas have real potential to be scaled.”
Organisers say the outcomes demonstrate why initiatives like Africa AI Literacy Week are essential, not only to build technical capacity but to provide space for innovation focused on Africa’s most urgent needs.
“There is strong demand from students and institutions to do more,” added Dr. Gitau. “We’re already looking at how to expand future hackathons to involve more universities and broader thematic areas.”
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