NIRU Unveils Top 15 AI Hackathon 2025 Finalists

The push by Kenya to establish itself as a frontrunner in artificial intelligence innovation continues to gain pace, particularly on Tuesday, as the National Intelligence Research University (NIRU) hosted the Artificial Intelligence Hackathon 2025 Finalists Showcase.

The event which occurred on March 31, 2026, saw the country’s best innovators present cutting-edge solutions to address key national issues.

It marked a major milestone in the development of a national pipeline geared towards translating concepts of artificial intelligence into innovation that could create jobs for the population of the country.

The initiative, which brings together stakeholders from different sectors of the national community, is a clear indication of a concerted effort to anchor the country’s digital transformation on innovation.

Hackathon saw the best 15 innovators from thousands of applicants present Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) geared towards solving problems in security, agriculture, cybersecurity, and service delivery.

“Hackathons are not only about developing solutions, but solutions that can actually be applied in the real world. What we are seeing today is a strong pipeline of Kenyan innovation ready to address real national challenges,” said Dr. James Kibon.

NIRU Selection and Evaluation Criteria

It is important to note that the organizers highlighted the fact that the criteria for evaluating the competition extend beyond the level of technology employed.

Judges are evaluating the projects based on their scalability, originality, and results, as well as their alignment with the strategic interests of Kenya.

“In the evaluation, we are focusing not only on technical feasibility, but also on relevance to national security, impact, and originality,” said Eng. Ruth Kirui, who is serving both as a mentor and a judge.

The hackathon stems from a nationwide call issued in October 2025 that attracted over 5,600 registrations and generated more than 2,400 AI proposals.

From this large pool, a competitive group was shortlisted into a structured incubation programme spearheaded by NIRU.

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From Thousands to Top 15 Finalists

In the various stages of the program, the innovators were filtered from the initial pool of more than 2,500 to 60 innovators who received intensive incubation.

Innovators then proceeded to the final stage, where 15 innovators were chosen to showcase.

The program has offered the innovators technical mentorship, ethical AI mentorship, product development mentorship, and product commercialization mentorship.

This process has helped the innovators move from conceptual ideas to productized ideas.

The final three winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, as the final stage of the process is concluded.

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