AI Hackathon - Kenya

About the challenge
AI Hackathon 2026, JacHacks Kenya Edition
is a free, virtual hackathon from
Friday 16 to Saturday 17 October 2026
. Join from anywhere, form a team of 1 to 4, and build an AI-powered project overnight using
Jac
, the open-source, AI-native programming language from Jaseci Labs. Hack the future with Jac.
Presented by Jaseci Labs. The main track is
Hack the Future with Jac
: build working software that makes real use of Jac and Jaseci, with at least 80% of your code in Jac.
What makes it special
$1,000 in prizes:
$500, $300 and $200 for the top three projects.
Free and virtual:
no cost to take part, and you can join from anywhere.
All skill levels welcome.
Keynote and check-ins:
a 30-minute keynote on AI innovation at the start, plus two mid-hackathon check-ins with the organising and technical support teams.
Community on Discord:
the official server is where you check in and get help.
Schedule (East Africa Time, EAT)
When
What happens
Fri 3:30–4:00 PM
Virtual check-in and registration; join the Discord server
Fri 4:00–4:15 PM
Welcome and opening remarks
Fri 4:15–4:30 PM
Hackathon briefing: rules, judging, prizes, submissions
Fri 4:30–5:00 PM
Keynote on AI innovation and building with Jac
Fri 5:00 PM
Hacking begins
Fri 5:00–7:00 PM
First hacking session
Fri 7:00–7:30 PM
Optional dinner break
Fri 7:30–10:00 PM
Second hacking session
Fri 10:00 PM onwards
Overnight hacking
Sat 12:00–7:30 AM
Overnight hacking continues
Sat 7:30–8:30 AM
Mid-hackathon check-in, se

Requirements
What to Build
Build a
working piece of software that meaningfully uses Jac and Jaseci
, with at least 80% of the code written in Jac. This is the main track,
Hack the Future with Jac
.
The idea is yours. Judges look for a project that is creative, useful and technically solid, and that shows real agentic behaviour: AI agents that do more than answer a single prompt. Each team builds one project, and all coding happens during the event, between hacking start on Friday 16 October and the submission deadline on Saturday 17 October.
What to Submit
Submit through this Devpost page by
3:30 PM EAT on Saturday 17 October 2026
. Late entries can't win. Your submission needs:
GitHub repository link.
The code must be at least 80% Jac. Repos are checked against the rules.
Demo video
of the working project, submitted by the deadline.
Written description
, including how you used Jac or Jaseci tools.
A star on the Jac repo:
github.com/jaseci-labs/jac
.
Encouraged:
deploy on JacHammer (
jachammer.ai
). The sandbox is free, and a live link makes it easier for judges to try your project.
The final submission window runs from 3:00 to 3:30 PM EAT on Saturday. Start your video and repo clean-up earlier, during the 1:30–3:00 PM testing and demo preparation slot.

Judging Criteria
Technical execution
Does the project work as shown, and is it well built?
Excellent use of Jac and Jaseci
How well the project uses Jac and Jaseci tools, with at least 80% of the code in Jac.
Creativity and innovation
How original the idea and the approach are.
Depth of agentic behaviour
How far AI agents plan, decide and act on their own, beyond answering a single prompt.
Impact and novelty
Whether it solves a real problem for real people, and how new it is.
Clear presentation and demo video
How clearly the demo video and written description show what the project does and how you built it.