- This event has passed.
AI4SU AgriTech Hackathon 2
About AI 4 STARTUPS
An AI Hackathon program aimed to support AgriTech Startups to create value through data sharing and foster AI-driven innovations for agricultural sustainability in Kenya and across Africa.How it works:
- Co-design a challenge
- Launch an online workshop series
- Launch a call for an in person 3-day hacking sprint
- Award 3 grand prizes to top AI models
About AI4SU Agritech Hackathon 2
Smallholder farmers across Africa face a dual threat: increasingly unpredictable climate patterns and unstable agricultural markets. With rainfall variability, droughts, floods, and volatile prices shaping every season, farmers often lack the timely insights needed to plan, protect their crops, or sell at the right time. Traditional advisory systems and insurance mechanisms react too slowly, leaving farmers exposed and underprepared.
This hackathon challenge invites innovators to build AI-powered, geospatially informed intelligence tools that help farmers anticipate climate shocks, access fairer insurance, understand market trends, and make better decisions in real time. Participants will explore how satellite imagery, climate models, weather forecasts, and price datasets can be combined into actionable digital solutions that improve resilience and profitability for Africa’s agricultural communities.
You will design solutions around two key challenge areas:
- AI for Climate-Risk Modelling & Parametric Insurance : This challenge focuses on developing AI-enabled tools that help farmers anticipate and withstand climate-related shocks. Participants will work with satellite data, climate models, and weather patterns to detect early signs of drought, flooding, and crop stress. The goal is to build models that can generate localized climate-risk maps, estimate the probability of crop failure, and support the design of parametric insurance solutions that trigger payouts automatically when predefined climate thresholds are crossed. By improving the accuracy of hazard detection and reducing basis risk, these solutions can provide farmers with faster, fairer, and more reliable financial protection during severe weather events.
- AI-Powered Market & Yield Intelligence:Â This challenge invites innovators to design AI systems that give farmers and cooperatives a clearer understanding of market trends and expected yields. Participants will explore how historical price data, market behavior, and remote sensing yield estimates can be combined to predict price movements, demand fluctuations, and potential oversupply risks. The aim is to create insights that guide farmers on the best times and places to sell their produce, improving income and reducing post-harvest losses. These solutions should be accessible through farmer-friendly channels, such as SMS, WhatsApp, or simple dashboard interfaces, enabling users across different regions and connectivity levels to make informed, data-driven decisions.
Equity, Ethics & Inclusion
All solutions should prioritize:
- Accessibility for women, youth groups, and low-connectivity regions.
- Multilingual and voice-friendly interfaces for farmers with varying literacy levels.
- Ethical data practices, transparency in model outputs, and fairness across regions.
Participants must clearly explain data sources, protect privacy, and provide understandable interpretations of predictions or insurance triggers.
Build something that helps farmers prepare, not just react.
If you’re passionate about geospatial analytics, climate modelling, machine learning, or agricultural systems, this is your chance to build high-impact solutions for real users and real challenges.
