LocationsHackathon Boosts Agricultural Innovation for the Future Timbuktoo Angola AgriTech Center of Excellence
27 de Fevereiro de 2026
Innovative young woman presents her solution during the hackathon
The Government of Angola, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), held the Demo Day for the Timbuktoo Angola AgriTech Hackathon on Thursday, the 26th—an initiative that marks an important step toward the creation of the Timbuktoo Angola AgriTech Center of Excellence.
At the event, 64 young innovators from Benguela, Bié, Huambo, Huíla, Uíge, and Luanda, selected from among 548 applicants, formed nine teams. These teams presented finalist solutions addressing specific challenges in Angola’s agricultural sector, demonstrating technology’s potential to increase productivity, improve market access, and support small-scale producers.
The AgriTech Hackathon marks an initial step toward the creation of the Timbuktoo Angola AgriTech Center of Excellence, helping to identify solutions, talent, and investment opportunities within the national agricultural innovation ecosystem.
The three winning teams were each awarded 700,000 kwanzas to develop and validate their solutions, and they will now join the first cohort of the AgriTech Timbuktoo Hub in Angola, where they will benefit from acceleration programs and technical support.
In addition to the cash prize, finalist teams benefit from follow-up opportunities, including integration into the AgriTech Timbuktoo Hub in Angola, access to post-hackathon training and mentoring, coworking space, and connections to the innovation ecosystem, partners, and investment opportunities.
The future AgriTech Timbuktoo Angola Center of Excellence, currently under development, is a project coordinated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, co-coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and implemented by the UNDP, with support from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Aligned with regional integration frameworks such as the Lobito Corridor and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Center is designed as a regional hub for agricultural technology, with the ambition of establishing itself as a pan-African center of excellence in sustainable agriculture, green technologies, and rural entrepreneurship.
It is expected to act as a catalyst for a modern agricultural innovation ecosystem, promoting youth entrepreneurship and the adoption of digital tools—including artificial intelligence—to transform agricultural value chains and contribute to food sovereignty, economic diversification, and the growth of a new generation of agribusiness in Angola, Portuguese-speaking Africa, and across the continent.
The results of the Hackathon are expected to contribute to the strategic mapping of the AgriTech ecosystem in Angola and support the establishment of future partnerships, acceleration programs, and investments within the framework of the future Timbuktoo Angola AgriTech Center of Excellence.
The Timbuktoo Angola AgriTech Hackathon was held with the support of 42 Luanda and implemented with the support of Acelera and Acelera Agro, partners who contributed to the program’s technical development, mentoring, and facilitation.
About Timbuktoo
The Timbuktoo initiative, led by UNDP Africa, is based on a systemic approach that connects governments, the private sector, universities, and investors, organized into thematic hubs such as AgriTech, FinTech, and ClimateTech; UniPods (university innovation labs); and innovative financing mechanisms, including venture capital and blended finance.
Angola is the 11th African country to join the Timbuktoo initiative’s thematic hubs, leading the AgriTech track and serving as the only Portuguese-speaking country in this network, which includes South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt.
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