It was a remarkable moment at the grand finale of the 2025 Global Data Hackathon, hosted by 10Alytics– Africa’s leading EdTech platform, when budding Nigerian data analyst Somtochukwu Uzodufa emerged the overall winner, taking home a $1,000 cash prize.
Uzodufa’s exceptional time management, clarity, and compelling presentation style set her apart from top contenders across Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. She secured 81.71% from the judges, ahead of Ishaq Kofi (Nigeria) who placed second, while Ghana’s Kwame Otchere and Kenya’s Nicholas Otieno tied with 77.71%, earning the third position.
This year’s data hackathon challenged participants with the critical theme: “Unravelling Africa’s Sovereign Debt Crisis: Paths to Sustainability.” Leveraging data-driven analysis, contestants were tasked with uncovering actionable insights, exposing cross-country fiscal behaviours, and contributing to global solutions aimed at improving public financial management. Participants used AI, data science, and analytical modelling to transform fragmented macroeconomic indicators, such as budget balances, GDP (real and nominal), health expenditure, inflation, VAT, trade data, unemployment, government debt, and population metrics, into meaningful intelligence capable of strengthening governance and driving evidence-based policymaking.
True to its reputation as Africa’s foremost EdTech accelerator for data talent, 10Alytics rewarded participants with a robust prize structure. For the 2025 winners, the first prize went home with $1000 cash prize, second prize- $600, third prize- $400. The 4th to 6th position were offered UK internship experience while the 7th and 8th winners got AI Automation course scholarship. The 9th and 10th winners got 2 months CV Matchly AI access.
This year, 2,282 individuals from 51 countries registered, while 217 participants from 12 countries successfully submitted entries. At the end of the final presentations, 12 winners from four countries emerged.
The event featured a diverse panel of international judges from South Africa, Indonesia, the UK, the US, and Nigeria, including Maulidin Dhani (Telkomsel, Indonesia), Lisel Engelbrecht (Standard Bank of South Africa), Nicole Adriaans (Bluesky), Oluwatosin Iseniyi (BUDGIT), Adejoju Ajani (Interswitch Group), David Williams (Mainstack), and Rowland Agidee (NHS Foundation Trust, UK).
Since 2021, 10Alytics has become a launchpad for African data talent, hosting six successful hackathons in four years, four open to the public and two exclusive to 10Alytics alumni. Its global hackathons have consistently championed the use of data analytics to solve pressing social issues across Africa.
The organisation believes:
“Data sits at the core of life and development. Africa holds an abundance of untapped social data, and when properly analysed, it can reshape planning, governance, and economic transformation.”
Past 10Alytics hackathon themes reflect this mission, tackling challenges such as:
- Africa’s education crisis
- Healthcare system failures
- Unemployment across the continent
- Child and infant mortality
With every edition, 10Alytics continues to redefine data-driven problem-solving, solidifying its status as Africa’s leading Education Technology Startup and a growth engine for the next generation of African tech experts.
The 2025 global hackathon was executed in collaboration with Mainstack as the main sponsor while the data set and case study was co-created with BudgIT.
10Alytics is Africa’s leading Edtech company focused on providing specialized training in technology skills and delivering comprehensive data consulting services. With over 5 years of building talent for the technology workforce, we have helped over 5,100+ people transition from the classroom into their first job in tech across the UK, US, Canada, Europe, Africa, and Asia. We are committed to making the technology sector more accessible through premium, experiential training in Data Analytics, Business Analysis, Data Engineering, Full Stack Data Science, Financial Analytics, HR Analytics, Agile Project Management & Scrum Master, Cyber Security, Product Design, and DevOps Engineering. Our team of instructors from leading global companies like Apple, Microsoft, McKinsey, Amazon, etc. They bring a wealth of real-world experience and are dedicated to delivering an engaging, practical learning experience that ensures you receive the maximum value from your investment in your future.
