TBD Announces Hackathon to Revolutionize Payments in Africa with tbDEX Protocol in Collaboration with Africa Bitcoin Conference

TBD Announces Hackathon to Revolutionize Payments in Africa with tbDEX Protocol in Collaboration with Africa Bitcoin Conference
Image credit: TBD

Hackathon Overview

TBD, a division of Block, has launched the TBD Hackathon in partnership with the Africa Bitcoin Conference. This competition is designed to foster innovation, creativity, and technological advancement in payment systems across Africa using the tbDEX open-source protocol.

Event Details

The hackathon will accept submissions from 31 July 2024 until 15 September 2024. The event will culminate from 9-11 December 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, during the Africa Bitcoin Conference. Participants are tasked with developing payment applications leveraging the tbDEX protocol.

Significance of the Initiative

The TBD Hackathon aims to unlock the potential of African developers and innovators. It seeks to gather top builders and entrepreneurs to tackle prevalent issues in Africa’s payment systems. Many African countries struggle with limited access to banking services, high transaction fees, and inefficient cross-border payments. The tbDEX protocol addresses these challenges by connecting users to wallet providers and financial institutions, offering competitive exchange rates and fees.

Hackathon Challenge and Requirements

Participants will be required to develop a wallet application integrated with tbDEX, using a sandbox of example Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) to test functionality. Teams can consist of up to two people and must use the tbDEX SDK for their projects.

Six finalist teams will be flown to Nairobi to present their projects to a panel of judges. The top three projects will receive prizes:

• First Prize: $15,000 in BTC
• Second Prize: $10,000 in BTC
• Third Prize: $5,000 in BTC

Call to Action

Angie Jones, Global VP of Developer Relations for TBD, encourages developers, entrepreneurs, and innovators from across Africa to participate, whether they are seasoned professionals or passionate newcomers. The TBD Hackathon provides an ideal platform to develop the next generation of financial tools for the continent.

For more information and to sign up for the hackathon, visit the official TBD Hackathon page.