About
The hackathon
The hackathon
A 48-hour hackathon for students and young innovators in the Northern Cape, delivered by The Cortex Accelerator Hub and funded by MICT SETA. Teams of three to five take a real provincial problem from idea to working prototype.
The Cortex Accelerator Hub is delivering this hackathon under contract RFQ/MICT/34/2026.
How the 48 hours work
120 minutes
Ideation
Teams document their problem statement, solution concept, target users and anticipated impact in a one-page Ideation Canvas.
20 hours
Development
Teams build a functional prototype, MVP or proof of concept. Mentors rotate every four hours, with progress check-ins at Hour 10 and Hour 22.
30 minutes
Iteration
Teams test their prototypes against the judging criteria, address mentor feedback and prepare presentation materials.
10 minutes plus 5 minutes Q&A
Presentation
Each team presents to the judging panel, including a live demonstration.
Why the Northern Cape
This hackathon is built around the province's real economy — mining, renewable energy, agriculture and scientific research. Problems are grounded in the five districts of Frances Baard, John Taolo Gaetsewe, Namakwa, Pixley ka Seme and ZF Mgcawu, the SKA Observatory ecosystem, the solar corridors around Upington and Kathu, and water scarcity across the Karoo and Namakwa.
How you’ll be judged
| Criterion | Points | What judges look for |
|---|---|---|
| Innovation and Originality | 20 | Novelty of the solution, creative approach, degree of original thinking demonstrated |
| Technical Feasibility | 20 | Soundness of technical architecture, functionality of prototype, quality of code or build |
| Social and Economic Impact | 20 | Magnitude of potential impact, relevance to community or sector, alignment to 4IR and 5IR priorities |
| Commercial Viability | 20 | Sustainability of business model, scalability, identified market, monetisation strategy |
| Presentation and Prototype Quality | 20 | Clarity of delivery, quality of live demonstration, ability to respond to Q&A, professionalism |
| Total | 100 |
All criteria are disclosed to participants before the hackathon.
Prizes and what happens after
| Place | Prize | To the team | To incubation seed funding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | R100 000 | R60 000 | R40 000 |
| 2nd | R65 000 | R39 000 | R26 000 |
| 3rd | R35 000 | R21 000 | R14 000 |
Each of the top three teams signs an agreement committing 40% of their prize to a structured incubation programme as seed funding for their venture. This is a condition of the prize, and it is money that stays with your idea — it funds four weeks of mentorship, investor readiness work, IP and patenting support, and access to the Hub’s innovation labs.
Your intellectual property
All intellectual property in the solutions, prototypes and materials you develop remains the sole property of your team. By registering you grant MICT SETA and the Hub a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free licence to showcase, publicise and describe your solution for communications, reporting and advocacy purposes only. No commercialisation of your IP happens without your team's explicit written consent.