Mara Foundation has revealed the winners of its 2022 ‘Hack the Mara’ hackathon that was launched in July. The top three teams with the most viable business ideas have been honored with rewards that will promote long-term positive social and environmental change in the Maasai Mara, Africa, and beyond.

The Mara Hackathon celebrates African Web3 developers and innovators working to solve last-mile payment tracking challenges and strengthen the financial sustainability of ongoing conservation projects in the Mara for better livelihoods. 

The winners emerged after proposal submissions and a week-long physical hackathon that was held in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, where they built prototypes of their solutions.

The winning teams include Team Masterminds, Team Blocverse, and Team AfroLabs, all from Nigeria.

With a focus on building impactful USSD blockchain solutions in Web3, team Masterminds developed a funding solution using blockchain with NFTs to provide a means of livelihood for Maasai rangers, conservancies, and land owners. 

The team is made up of Babatide Ayoade, a blockchain developer, Oluwasegun Abisagbo, a front-end developer, and Patience Adajah, a front-end d-App engineer skilled in UI/UX design.

Abisagbo expressed her merriment saying “The preservation of wildlife is critical to the sustenance of the Maasai ecosystem. Our solution offers people an opportunity for sustainable funding to reach the critical stakeholders in the Maasai while offering an opportunity for everyone to experience the Mara, even if they have never been there.”

Adajah emphasized adding, “We are so thrilled that the judges found our solution worthy to win the competition. We are excited about the future and we look forward to building the final version of our product.”

On a mission to drive blockchain adoption in Africa through building everyday products with Web3 technologies,  team Blocverse created a solution that gives back to nature and helps conservancies become more sustainable so they can also autorun even without donations. 

The team is made up of Toochukwu Okoro, a smart-contract developer, Joshua Avoaja, a software developer with technical implementation skills, and Teresa Amanwachi, a researcher and technical writer. 

Avoaja commented on their win saying, “We are building our solution as a financial power horse that will champion inclusiveness in conservation because we truly believe that conservation is everyone’s duty and we should all contribute to conservation.”

Keenly interested in building Web3 solutions, breeding a culture, and building Africa, team AfroLabs of young blockchain explorers developed a solution to help the Maasai Mara community receive money from anywhere directly into their accounts so land owners can get paid easily and wildlife is preserved. 

The team took third place and is made up of Obinna Oba, a full-stack developer with an interest in building in the web3 space for start-ups in Africa, Anthony Nwobodo, a full-stack software engineer and blockchain developer, and Chisom Aniefuna, a 400 level Pharmacy student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Commenting on their solution winning the competition, Nwobodo said, “During the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the land owners lacking funds and started thinking of selling their lands or converting them to farmlands, ultimately affecting the ecosystem of wildlife. With our solution, they will be able to get funding even in hard times while preserving the wildlife ecosystem.”

The Mara Foundation is poised to find and develop African talents, empowering them to create significant solutions for the continent and the rest of the globe. This is thanks to a vibrant new tribe that is expanding across Africa.

Kate Kallot, Co-Founder and Chief Impact Officer at Mara commented, “African developers and innovators are trailblazing with their creative blockchain solutions today. We believe that these Africans can act as the spark for igniting blockchain solutions that will advance the future of finance in Africa on Web3.”

“Mara Foundation is committed to helping people realize their full potential through initiatives like this. We want these Forward Thinkers and Builders to be equipped and empowered to create a long-term positive social impact on our continent through blockchain technology,” she added.

The top three winning teams emerged out of over 800 applicants who entered the competition. With three Kenyan teams and five Nigerian finalist teams participating in the week-long physical hackathon, the top three winning teams emerged from Nigeria.