She Code Africa has partnered with Apify to launch the Apify × SCA BuildHer Hackathon 2026, a hybrid programme challenging women developers and technical builders across Africa to create, publish and monetise technology that addresses real-world problems on the continent.
Under the theme “Ship and Earn Africa,” the hackathon will give participants hands-on experience building their own Apify Actors, web scraping and automation tools hosted on the Apify Store. The programme is designed to take participants beyond building prototypes, requiring teams to develop working tools that can be published and monetised.
The partnership brings together the She Code Africa community of women in technology and Apify’s web automation and data infrastructure to create a practical pathway into the developer economy. Apify currently hosts more than 50,000 Actors, while its developer community generates more than US$1.5 million monthly, according to the hackathon programme.
“At She Code Africa, we want women to have more than access to technology; we want them to have the opportunity to build with it, solve problems that matter to their communities and create economic value from what they build. Our partnership with Apify brings that vision to life by giving women developers a practical opportunity to build, publish and monetise their own tools. Through Ship and Earn Africa, we’re creating a space where African women can turn their technical skills into solutions that respond to real challenges across the continent,” said Ada Nduka Oyom, Founder & Executive Director of She Code Africa.
Participants will build solutions across areas including agricultural intelligence, education, financial data, cybersecurity, jobs, healthcare, legal access, travel, small-business intelligence and data technology. Proposed use cases include monitoring agricultural prices across Nigerian markets, aggregating scholarship opportunities for African students, tracking remote jobs for African developers, and turning fragmented public datasets into useful APIs and data products.
The hackathon is targeted at women developers and engineers, AI builders, indie hackers and product builders, as well as students and early-career developers with the coding ability to build and ship a working technical project.
Through Apify, participants will have access to free accounts, platform credits, the Apify SDK, learning resources through Apify Academy and technical support from Apify’s Developer Relations team throughout the build period. Each participating team will be expected to publish its completed Actor and use Apify’s PPE monetisation model.
Apify representative quote
“The best thing about the Apify community is that anyone can build a tool, publish it, and start earning from it the same week. African women developers are already solving hard local problems; what’s often missing is a path from a working prototype to a product with real users and real income. This hackathon is that path. We’re excited to see what the participants ship, and the Apify team will be with them from onboarding through Demo Day and beyond.” Saurav Jain, Senior Developer Community Manager, Apify
The virtual hackathon onboarding and build session will take place on Thursday, September 24, 2026, followed by an in-person Demo Day and Awards Ceremony on Friday, September 25, 2026, in Lagos. Teams will demonstrate their solutions before a judging panel comprising external judges and Apify representatives, with selected finalists advancing to the final presentation round.
The top three teams will receive US$700, US$500 and US$300 respectively, while members of the top 10 teams will receive Apify platform credits. The top three winning teams will also participate in a post-hackathon workshop with Apify’s Developer Relations team and She Code Africa to support the continued development of their projects.
The Apify × SCA BuildHer Hackathon reflects a shared commitment to creating more pathways for African women to participate in the technology economy as builders and creators, while developing practical digital solutions for challenges within their communities.
About She Code Africa
She Code Africa (SCA) is a non-profit organisation creating opportunities for African women to thrive in technology. She Code Africa supports women across different stages of their technology journeys through technology education, mentorship, career acceleration, economic opportunity programmes, community and networks that support their growth within the technology ecosystem.
About Apify
Apify is a web automation and data extraction platform that provides developers and businesses with tools and infrastructure to collect web data, automate workflows and build AI-powered applications. Its marketplace, Apify Store, hosts thousands of tools known as Actors, which can be used, customised and integrated into automated workflows.
Media Contact
She Code Africa
Juliana Ajagunna
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