Deadline: November 6, 2026
Applications are open for the Youth4Climate Services Innovation Hackathon 2026. The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), in partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is hosting a hackathon from December 8th to 10th, 2026. The hackathon aims to strengthen the existing youth-led climate information solutions across the IGAD Region.
The hackathon will challenge participants to demonstrate how their existing solutions can address a practical challenge in the climate services value chain. This may involve improving how climate information is translated into sector specific advisories, tailoring services to local user needs, communicating climate risks through accessible channels, facilitating user engagement, or integrating climate information into tools that support climate-sensitive decisions.
Benefits
The hackathon will recognize and award outstanding youth-led innovations based on their functionality, relevance to climate services, user-centred design, potential impact, and prospects for further development and scaling.
- Financial awards will be provided to recognize outstanding solutions and support their further development. In addition, selected innovators may be connected to technical mentors, incubation and acceleration programmes, and potential partners for piloting and institutional collaboration, subject to partner commitments.
- The awards and potential follow-up support are intended to encourage continued innovation and help promising youth-led solutions progress towards practical application, institutional uptake, and wider use across the IGAD region.
Eligibility
The hackathon will target young innovators, entrepreneurs, software developers, data scientists, and multidisciplinary teams from across the IGAD region.
Eligible participants must:
- Be between 18 and 35 years of age.
- Be nationals of, or based in, an IGAD member state, subject to the final eligibility guidelines.
- Have an existing climate-related digital tool, platform, product, or solution that is functional or at pilot stage. Concept-only proposals without a demonstrable solution will not be eligible.
- Be able to demonstrate the solution and explain its functionality, intended users, current stage of development, and potential contribution to climate services.
- Be available to participate in the hackathon and present their solutions to technical experts, the evaluation panel, and potential partners.
- Submit all required information and supporting materials by the stated deadline.
Application
Applicants are required to submit the below by 06 November 2026 through [email protected]:
- A brief description of the innovation and the problem it addresses.
- An explanation of how the solution contributes to climate services and which part of the climate services value chain it addresses.
- A description of the intended users and how the solution responds to their needs.
- Evidence of the solution’s current development stage, such as a working demonstration, prototype, screenshots, video, or pilot results.
- A brief explanation of the innovation’s distinctive features and potential value compared with existing approaches.
- Information on the innovator(s), relevant skills, and the motivation for participating.
- A brief statement outlining the solution’s potential for further development, practical application, and scaling.
For more information, visit Youth4Climate Services Innovation Hackathon.
