1 day ago
ADTC 2026 live final on 17 October: come watch, test the models, and vote
Thank you for being part of the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026. Everyone who built and submitted a model helped show that useful AI can run offline on an ordinary laptop.
Ten finalists now pitch live at The Laptop LLM Final Pitch Day, and we would love to have you there.
Date and time: Saturday, 17 October 2026, 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM (GMT+1)
Register here: https://luma.com/81js96d4
New this year, the audience gets a vote, with a $500 prize for the team the audience chooses. Here is how to take part:
1. Register for the event on Luma. Only registered…
15 days ago
Finalists Announcement — Live on YouTube, September 29 @ 4PM UTC
We've completed our evaluation of all submissions and are ready to announce the ADTC 2026 Finalists.
Join us live on Tuesday, September 29th at 4PM UTC for the announcement:
👉 https://youtu.be/e35K7nkXFLU
We'll be revealing the teams that made it through — one by one — along with a breakdown of the selection process, what comes next for finalists, and what's at stake in the live defence on October 17 2026.
Whether your name is on the list or not, this is worth watching. Set a reminder, share the link, and show up.
See you Tuesday.
Questions?
If you…
about 1 month ago
Semifinalist Announcement — Live on YouTube, September 8 @ 4PM UTC
The results are in.
We've completed our evaluation of all submissions and are ready to announce the ADTC 2026 Semifinalists.
Join us live on Tuesday, September 8th at 4PM UTC for the announcement:
👉 https://youtu.be/TVoUjEHiQYY
We'll be revealing the teams that made it through — one by one — along with a breakdown of the selection process, what comes next for semifinalists, and what's at stake in Gate 3.
Whether your name is on the list or not, this is worth watching. Set a reminder, share the link, and show up.
See you Tuesday.
Questions?
If you have…
about 2 months ago
Give us your feedback on the challenge for a chance to win an Audio Book on DeepTech by Eric Raymond
We need your feedback!
Your response is anonymous and would not factor in any future consideration.
Your feedback will help us make future challenges even more impactful!
If you complete the survey, you have an opportunity to win a free Deep Tech audiobook titled: Deep Tech: Demystifying the Breakthrough Technologies That Will Revolutionize Everything by Eric Raymond
Note: You must have an Audible Account to be able to claim the prize. Please ensure you register for Audible before entering.
The 1st, 50th, and 100th Africa Deep Tech Challenge participants to complete the survey will receive the free…
about 2 months ago
Let's help you share your project with the world!
Congratulations on getting to the submissions phase of the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026!
We are reviewing and curating submissions and will soon publish them in the gallery, subject to eligibility.
In the meantime, we invite you to share your projects and videos on social media (X, Instagram, LinkedIn) using the hashtags #AfricaDeepTechChallenge2026 and #ADTC2026. Also tag our handles @africadeeptech on X, Instagram, and Africa Deep Tech Community on LinkedIn.
This will let us share your project with our community of Deep Tech investors and innovators, giving you and your project more visibility.
You can see…
about 2 months ago
How to get your Team ID
Hello all,
As we count down to the submission deadline, we have been getting questions about how to get your Team ID.
The team ID in this context means the Dev Post project ID. E.g for this Devpost project it is : project-farmspeak Note that you may need to create the project submission before you can get the URL / Team ID. This is OK because you can always go back to edit your submission.We've reviewed early repos and found a recurring problem: participants are submitting repos that are missing the required structure from the submission template…
about 2 months ago
Final call for submissions
There are only 3 days left to complete your submission for Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026.
about 2 months ago
Action required: FInal Submission Checklist
Hello ADTC Builders!
The deadline is days away. We've reviewed early repos and found a recurring problem: participants are submitting repos that are missing the required structure from the submission template. An incomplete repo is an invalid submission — no matter how good your model is.
Check your repo now. It must contain:
☐ metadata.json — fully filled, no placeholders, exactly 2 test prompts
☐ download_model.sh — downloads your .gguf model without credentials
☐ REPORT.md — problem, design decisions, constraints, benchmarks
☐ model/ — populated by the script, not committed to git
☐ .gitignore — must exclude *.gguf and …
about 2 months ago
Final Q & A Session Happening now!
Final Q & A Session Happening now!
Join using this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iLScsP4yShuNmaT-aZ7IVg
Questions?
If you have any questions about the hackathon, please post on the Discord Channel.
about 2 months ago
The Final ADTC 2026 Q&A Session: Come with your questions , stay for the tips and advice!
Hello builders!
Have questions about the ADTC Laptop LLM Challenge?
Join today's Q&A session to chat with the team, ask technical questions & get unstuck.
Whether you're just getting started or putting the finishing touches on your submission, we'd love to see you there.
Time: 15:00 WAT
Link: https://bit.ly/4gpeGXx
Questions?
If you have any questions about the hackathon, please post on the Discord Channel.
2 months ago
ADTC 2026 Knowledge Session Happening Now: Low Rank Compression of Neural Network Weights to Optimize for Local Models
ADTC 2026 Knowledge Session Happening Now: Low Rank Compression of Neural Network Weights to Optimize for Local Models
Attend using this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iLScsP4yShuNmaT-aZ7IVg
2 months ago
Attend Rescheduled ADTC 2026 Knowledge Session: Low Rank Compression of Neural Network Weights to Optimize for Local Models
Hello Participants,
We are happy to finally bring you the earlier scheduled session: Low Rank Compression of Neural Network Weights to Optimize for Local Models
Deploying AI on everyday laptops starts with building smarter models, not just bigger ones. How do you compress powerful neural networks without sacrificing performance?
Join Information Session 5 of the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026 as Quintin Makwe, VP of Engineering at Insomnia Labs, explores how Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) can be used to compress neural network weights for faster, more efficient deployment on low-compute devices.
If you're building for #TheLaptopLLM, this session…
2 months ago
Today's Knowledge Session Postponed
Hello builders,
Unfortunately, today's info session has been postponed because our speaker is unavailable due to an emergency.
A new date and time will be communicated soon.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the hackathon, please post on the discussion forum.
2 months ago
New: ADTC 2026 finalists get a direct pathway into the Africa AI XPrize
We've partnered with the Nduzi Foundation to give all 10 ADTC 2026 finalists access to the Africa AI XPrize — a $10M initiative to make AI inference 50–100x more affordable across Africa. Finalists will receive mentorship and introductions to top global AI talent ahead of the official XPrize launch at Moonshot Lagos, October 28, 2026.
The work you're building now directly feeds into what the XPrize is trying to achieve. Keep going.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the hackathon or want to access some of the resources shared during the session, please join and post on the…
2 months ago
Attend ADTC 2026 Knowledge Session: Low Rank Compression of Neural Network Weights to Optimize for Local Models
Deploying AI on everyday laptops starts with building smarter models, not just bigger ones. How do you compress powerful neural networks without sacrificing performance?
Join Information Session 5 of the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026 as Quintin Makwe, VP of Engineering at Insomnia Labs, explores how Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) can be used to compress neural network weights for faster, more efficient deployment on low-compute devices.
If you're building for hashtag#TheLaptopLLM, this session will provide you with practical techniques for optimising models to run where they're needed most.
Date: 4th August, 2026.
Date: 2:00 PM UTC…
2 months ago
Important Updates to Submission Form: Separate fields for profiler scores
The submission form has been updated to enable you to enter the self-reported profiler scores in separate fields.
- Self-Reported Profiler Performance Score (Sperf)
- Self-Reported Profiler Efficiency Score (Seff)
If you have previously completed your submission, please ensure that you update your submission to include the correct self-reported profiler scores. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.
For more on how to use the profiler, please look at this video tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSj-s4_873dY
Questions?
If you have any questions about the hackathon or want to access some of the resources shared during the session, please join and post on…
3 months ago
Watch 2 Knowledge Session Recordings : GPU Access for African Builders + Decentralized Wireless Mesh Connectivity Suite with Embedded AI.
As part of the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026, we held two information sessions exploring two interesting topics
- DWMCS-AI: a Decentralized Wireless Mesh Connectivity Suite with Embedded AI by Dapo Sosanya
- Expanding Low Resource AI Innovation using Cloud GPUs by Alex Tsado
Please review the recordings above and let us have your feedback!
Questions?
If you have any questions about the hackathon or want to access some of the resources shared during the session, please join and post on the Discord Channel.
3 months ago
Attend ADTC 2026 Knowledge Session: GPU Access for African AI Builders — An Information Session with Alex Tsado
Date: Tuesday, 21 July 2026 Time: 7:00 AM PST | 2:00 PM GMT Format: Online Information Session
One of the biggest constraints facing AI builders in Africa is not talent or ambition — it is compute. Training and scaling AI models requires access to high-performance GPUs, and for most teams on the continent, the cost and availability of that infrastructure has been a genuine blocker.
Alex Tsado has spent his career working on exactly that problem. As a former NVIDIA product manager, he helped launch the company's global cloud AI business and worked with the world's largest cloud…
3 months ago
Watch Knowledge Session Recording: The Last Mile of AI: Designing for Real-World Constraints
Watch the recording here
As part of the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026, we held an information session exploring one of the most important engineering questions facing today's builders:
The Last Mile of AI: Designing for Real-World Constraints
Our guest speaker, Oji Udezue (General Partner, Phalanx Ventures; former Chief Product Officer at Calendly and Typeform), shared practical insights from building products used by millions.
He explored:
• Practical frameworks for identifying high-impact problems worth solving
• How to design products that move beyond demos into real-world adoption
• Emerging opportunities across the Challenge domains
• Lessons from global innovation ecosystems…
3 months ago
Attend ADTC 2026 Knowledge Session: "The Last Mile of AI: Designing for Real-World Constraints" tomorrow at 2pm UTC
As part of the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026, join us for another information session exploring one of the most important engineering questions facing today's builders:
The Last Mile of AI: Designing for Real-World Constraints
Our guest speaker, Oji Udezue (General Partner, Phalanx Ventures; former Chief Product Officer at Calendly and Typeform), will share practical insights from building products used by millions.
Together, we'll explore:
• Practical frameworks for identifying high-impact problems worth solving
• How to design products that move beyond demos into real-world adoption
• Emerging opportunities across the Challenge domains
• Lessons from global innovation ecosystems and…
4 months ago
Attend ADTC 2026 Knowledge session today at 2pm UTC
Remember to attend today's knowledge session at 2pm UTC where you can learn more about the challenge and ask your questions.
Register with this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iLScsP4yShuNmaT-aZ7IVg
Questions?
If you have any questions about the hackathon, please post on the Discord Channel.
4 months ago
Free GPU Credits From UDUTech Available for ADTC 2026 Participants
As you build your submission for the Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026, we want to make sure compute constraints don't slow you down.
Registered participants can now apply for up to 5 hours of free GPU credits from UDUTech to use for model training and experimentation. This is separate from the finalist and semi-finalist stipends — it's available to you now, while you're building.
To apply, click this link.
A few things to note:
- Credits will be granted based on the quality of your application
- They're intended for training and fine-tuning — final benchmarks must still run on the…