She Code Africa and Apify have announced the Apify × SCA BuildHer Hackathon 2026, a hybrid programme designed to help women developers across Africa build, publish and monetise technology products that solve real-world problems. Under the theme “Ship and Earn Africa,” participants will create web scraping and automation tools known as Apify Actors. The initiative moves beyond prototypes by requiring teams to deliver working tools that can be hosted on the Apify Store and generate economic value.
A Hybrid Programme for Practical Product Development
The hackathon brings together She Code Africa’s community of women in technology and Apify’s web automation and data infrastructure to create a practical entry point into the developer economy. Apify currently hosts more than 50,000 Actors and its developer community generates over US$1.5 million in monthly earnings according to programme materials. This partnership gives participants the chance to work with Apify’s free accounts, platform credits, SDK, Apify Academy learning resources and technical support from the Developer Relations team.
Solutions Targeting African Market Challenges
Participants are expected to develop solutions across sectors including agriculture, education, financial data, cybersecurity, jobs, healthcare, legal access, travel, small-business intelligence and data technology. Proposed projects range from monitoring agricultural prices in Nigerian markets to aggregating scholarships for African students and tracking remote jobs for African developers. Teams may also turn fragmented public datasets into useful APIs and data products that can serve businesses and consumers.
Eligibility and Practical Support
The programme is open to women developers and engineers, AI builders, indie hackers and product builders, as well as students and early-career developers with the coding ability to ship a working technical project. Each participating team will be required to publish its completed Actor and adopt Apify’s PPE monetisation model. This structure is intended to help participants transition from technical skill to commercial product development.
Leadership Perspectives on the Initiative
Ada Nduka Oyom, Founder and Executive Director of She Code Africa, said the goal is to help women use technology to build solutions that matter to their communities and create economic value. Saurav Jain, Senior Developer Community Manager at Apify, added that African women developers are already solving difficult local problems and often need a path from prototype to a product with real users and income. Both leaders described the hackathon as a bridge between technical ability and sustainable commercial opportunity.
Event Schedule, Demo Day and Prizes
The virtual onboarding and build session will take place on Thursday, September 24, 2026, followed by an in-person Demo Day and Awards Ceremony on Friday, September 25, 2026 in Lagos. Teams will present their solutions to a judging panel comprised of external judges and Apify representatives, with selected finalists advancing to the final presentation round. The top three teams will receive US$700, US$500 and US$300 respectively, while members of the top 10 teams will receive Apify platform credits.
Post-Hackathon Development Support
The top three winning teams will also participate in a post-hackathon workshop with Apify’s Developer Relations team and She Code Africa to support continued project development. This follow-up engagement is designed to help participants refine their products and sustain momentum after the competition. It reinforces the programme’s focus on moving beyond short-term prototypes and toward tools that can remain active and commercially viable.
The Apify × SCA BuildHer Hackathon 2026 highlights a shared commitment to expanding pathways for African women in the technology economy as builders and creators. By combining community access, practical infrastructure and a clear monetisation route, the programme aims to turn technical skills into products that respond to local challenges. Its emphasis on publishing, earning and post-event support could help more women developers become active participants in Africa’s growing digital economy.