Ugandan women’s team reaches Africa coding final

KAMPALA — A team of young Ugandan developers will represent the country at an Africa-wide coding competition carrying a USD 6,000 prize, after winning the second GirlCode Uganda Hackathon in Kampala over the weekend, organisers said.

Team HerTECH beat 60 other participants to top the contest, run by Absa Bank Uganda with the pan-African initiative GirlCode and the National ICT Innovation Hub. The win sends the four-member team to the continental finals, where it will compete against teams from five other African countries.

The team — Boonabaana Bronia, Nabaloga Sanyu Eleanor, Muteesasira Tendo Shamma and Akatukunda Precious Praise — won with DuukaTalk, a voice-first digital ledger that lets vendors record transactions in English or Luganda by voice command. The team says the tool removes accounting-literacy barriers for small traders.

The hackathon brought together 61 female developers, designers and tech entrepreneurs at the National ICT Innovation Hub in Nakawa for a 30-hour build across Saturday and Sunday. Participants worked on artificial intelligence and fintech products aimed at women’s economic needs, focusing on financial literacy, digital payments, credit access and agricultural inclusion.

First runner-up Team CropXcel presented an AI platform that draws on soil data, weather forecasts and location metrics to recommend planting schedules, yield projections, market prices and sales outlets. Second runner-up Team Sphinx showcased Second Life, an app that connects households with local artisans to upcycle unused items. Winners and runners-up received prizes including laptops, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and accessories.

Robinah Mukasa Kamuntu, acting marketing and consumer experience director at Absa Bank Uganda, linked the programme to the bank’s product development. “As a bank driven by technology, closing the gender technology gap is about ensuring the people building the financial solutions of tomorrow reflect the customers and communities we serve,” she said.

Zandile Mkwanazi, co-founder and chief executive of GirlCode, said women should not be sidelined as Uganda’s digital economy grows. “Uganda has a growing community of young innovators, and it is important that women are not left behind as the country’s digital economy expands,” she said, adding that the hub and MTN Uganda had joined as partners this year.

Carol Kagezi, partnerships and alliances coordinator at the National ICT Innovation Hub, said the aim was to move women from attendance to enterprise. “We want more women to participate meaningfully in Uganda’s innovation ecosystem: not only by attending tech events, but by building enterprises, leading teams, and creating solutions that respond to national priorities,” she said.

Organisers said the hackathon spoke to gaps in access to finance for women. According to World Bank Findex data, formal account access in Uganda reached 73% in 2025, though rural women and informal traders continue to face barriers to credit and formal financial-management tools.