Register

Registration closes

Thursday, 27 August 2026

Entries are reviewed for eligibility on a rolling basis from Sunday, 23 August 2026.

Before you start

• Your student number and institution
• Your ID number
• Your contact details
• Your team members' details if you already have a team

Who can take part

• South African citizens or permanent residents aged 18–35 at the date of registration
• Registered students at an accredited TVET college or university in the Northern Cape
• Not formally employed in the ICT sector at the time of registration
• Teams of three to five members
• At least one TVET college student per team is strongly encouraged and recognised within the hackathon framework
• Maximum 50 teams accepted; reserves are waitlisted and notified within 48 hours of registration closing

Attending

All team members are expected to attend the full 48 hours in person. A virtual participation option is available for verified exceptional cases, particularly for eligible participants from outlying districts where travel is a genuine barrier.

What happens next

Registrations are screened for eligibility. Confirmed teams are notified, and reserve teams are waitlisted and notified within 48 hours of registration closing. Joining instructions, the Terms and Conditions, Code of Conduct and consent forms are issued before the hackathon — these are signed before your team is activated.

Your personal information

We collect your information to run the hackathon, verify eligibility and report on outcomes to the funder. It is handled under the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act 4 of 2013. Your consent is captured in the registration form, and your information is retained for three years from project close and then securely deleted.

Questions

• Who can enter?

  • South African citizens or permanent residents aged 18–35 at the date of registration
  • Registered students at an accredited TVET college or university in the Northern Cape
  • Not formally employed in the ICT sector at the time of registration
  • Teams of three to five members
  • At least one TVET college student per team is strongly encouraged and recognised within the hackathon framework
  • Maximum 50 teams accepted; reserves are waitlisted and notified within 48 hours of registration closing

• Do I need a team?

  Teams of three to five members

• What does it cost?

  Nothing. Taking part is free.

• What do I need to bring?

  Joining instructions listing what to bring are issued before the hackathon, together with the Terms and Conditions, Code of Conduct and consent forms.

• What happens to my prototype and my IP?

  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.

• What is the 40% incubation commitment?

  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.

  • 1st: R100 000 prize, of which R40 000 goes to incubation seed funding and R60 000 to the team.
  • 2nd: R65 000 prize, of which R26 000 goes to incubation seed funding and R39 000 to the team.
  • 3rd: R35 000 prize, of which R14 000 goes to incubation seed funding and R21 000 to the team.