Organized by WADA and technically supported by PRISM, this hackathon is part of a major African Cardano Summit aiming to gather more than 250 developers from over 5 African countries. The objective is to build solutions and dApps demonstrating that real local challenges can be addressed using blockchain and Cardano technologies.
The DR Congo, specifically the Goma and Nyiragongo Hubs, was among the selected regions participating in this event.
An Unprecedented Hackathon
For the first time, over 50 developers met in the city of Goma at the Centre d’Accueil Bakanja, on November 22nd, 2025, under the guidance of the Goma & Nyiragongo Cardano Hubs.
Participants were divided into 8 teams, each working on a single project.
Project selection criteria
Each project had to:
- Identify and solve a real problem affecting the city of Goma or the DR Congo,
- Leverage the Cardano blockchain to offer solutions that existing Web2 systems had not succeeded in addressing.
Developers presented strong and impactful project ideas linked to real community needs such as digital trust, identity management, transparency, financial access, and public services.
Although many participants were initially intimidated by the idea of integrating blockchain—given that it was new for most of them—the training and sessions helped them gain confidence and start building practical prototypes.
Resources Provided
With the support of Akim Cizungu, blockchain developer and member of the Goma Hub, assisted by Olivier Mwatsimulamo, the teams were guided toward essential resources required to integrate Cardano effectively into their solutions.
The resources included:
-
Cardano Developers
https://developers.cardano.org/
→ The main documentation portal providing guides, tutorials, technical resources, and development paths for building on Cardano. -
Blockfrost
https://blockfrost.io/
→ A platform offering simple and powerful APIs for wallet handling, account functions, blockchain data queries, and transaction processing within applications. -
MeshJS
https://meshjs.dev/
→ A development library that simplifies interaction with smart contracts and blockchain functions, especially for projects using React, with reusable components and rich documentation. -
IPFS
https://about.ipfs.io/
→ A decentralized storage solution enabling teams to store files (images, NFT metadata, etc.) off-chain while maintaining traceability and immutability. -
Cardano Wallet Creation & Faucet (Testnet)
https://docs.cardano.org/cardano-testnets/tools/faucet
→ Tools allowing developers to create test wallets and receive test funds to validate their ideas before considering a mainnet deployment.
In addition to these tools, teams received:
- Strategic orientation,
- Practical guidance on integration,
- Technical framing to ensure meaningful and consistent use of Cardano in their projects.
Conclusion
This summit represents a major milestone and a historic opportunity for the Cardano ecosystem in Africa. It serves as a gateway for many Web2 developers to transition into Web3, using real use cases and community-driven projects.
It also highlights a strategic entry point for Cardano into African markets, where other blockchain ecosystems have already been making active progress through hackathons, developer programs, and technical initiatives.
And this is only the beginning.
Africa remains an underexplored but highly promising market, full of developers and innovators capable of contributing significantly to the growth and advancement of the Cardano ecosystem in the years to come.
