Introduction: When Innovation Meets Celebration
HackJos 2025 was more than just another hackathon; it was the beating heart of Northern Nigeria’s creativity, innovation, and teamwork.
Held at Fox Hotel, Jos, this year’s edition doubled as the 10th anniversary celebration of nHub, the region’s pioneering innovation hub. Over three days, developers, founders, designers, investors, and policymakers gathered to shape the future of MSMEs through technology.
The city of Jos truly came alive during the HackJos 2025 Innovation Summit, as Theodore Longji, Convener and nHub CEO, declared in his opening, “This is not just the beginning of another hackathon, but the continuation of a bold story that began in Jos ten years ago.”
Held from November 10–12, the event brought together over 500 innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and tech enthusiasts from across Northern Nigeria and beyond. Developers, mentors, and business leaders filled the halls with energy, collaboration, and creativity — sparking more than 100 prototypes that showcased the region’s rising influence in Africa’s tech ecosystem.
Bright minds, fresh concepts, and a shared belief that Jos could emerge as Africa’s next major innovation hub created an electrifying atmosphere. Throughout the summit, conversations centered on how digital transformation can drive inclusive growth, strengthen MSMEs, and build a sustainable future powered by innovation.
About HackJos 2025
HackJos 2025 is a movement commemorating ten years of nHub’s influence, not just a hackathon.
The event gathered Nigeria’s brightest tech talents to reimagine how Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can grow through digital innovation.
Core Mission
“We’re on a mission to empower Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by fostering innovation that directly impacts the growth and sustainability of MSMEs.”
(HackJos official statement)
This year’s theme, “Driving MSME Growth through Innovation,” guided participants to build solutions addressing real challenges in trade, finance, productivity, and logistics.
Echoing this, Hauwa Anita Mankilik, Policy Advisor and State Office Coordinator for GIZ-SEDIN, delivered a goodwill message emphasizing co-created solutions for MSMEs. She highlighted persistent barriers like limited financial access and low digital adoption, urging bold innovation in five key areas: expanding market access via e-commerce, boosting productivity with affordable tech, enhancing competitiveness through branding, promoting green practices, and building resilient job-creating models. “Your creativity and passion are the true engines of transformation,” she noted.
The HackJos Challenge 2025: Building Real-World Solutions
The hackathon featured four key challenge tracks, each addressing a critical gap in Nigeria’s digital economy:
| Track | Focus | Goal |
| 🛍️ E-Commerce Solutions | Helping MSMEs reach new markets | Empower small businesses to sell online easily |
| 💸 Financial Inclusion | Bridging digital payment gaps | Create fintech tools for the unbanked |
| ⚙️ Productivity Tools | Automating business tasks | Improve efficiency for startups & SMEs |
| 🚚 Logistics & Last-Mile Delivery | Smarter delivery systems | Optimize supply chains and mobility |
Participants had 48 hours to brainstorm, build, and pitch their prototypes.
Mentors and judges from across Nigeria guided teams through design, business modeling, and product development.
Celebrating nHub @ 10, A Decade of Impact
2025 marked a major milestone: nHub turned 10.
Founded in 2015, nHub has been a cornerstone of innovation in Northern Nigeria — mentoring startups, training developers, and creating a thriving community of digital creators.
This year’s event featured:
- Founders Chat with nHub’s leadership reflecting on a decade of growth.
- Recognition Ceremony honoring partners, mentors, and innovators.
- nHub@10 Showcase — exhibitions highlighting successful startups nurtured by nHub.
- Evening Celebration — a toast to innovation, collaboration, and the next decade of tech in Jos.
In the Founder’s Keynote, Daser David, nHub Founder and Digital Bridge Institute President, revisited HackJos’s origins: a “bold declaration that innovation could thrive right here in Jos.” He celebrated the event’s evolution into a movement producing founders and change-makers, stressing, “MSMEs are the engine of job creation and resilience. Through innovation, we can empower them to scale, thrive, and lead inclusive growth. Let us not just build startups, but ecosystems—from Jos, we can power the next wave of digital transformation across Africa.”
Event Objectives and Impact
The main goal of HackJos 2025 was clear:
to develop deployable, high-impact tools that directly address MSME pain points.
Participants were encouraged to:
- Build usable prototypes within 48 hours.
- Focus on solving real local problems.
- Showcase innovation that supports small business scalability.
The event achieved this by connecting teams with mentors and investors eager to transform hackathon ideas into viable startups.
Behind-the-Scenes Buzz: Day-by-Day Highlights
Day 1 (Nov 10): Kickoff at Fox Hotel buzzed with welcome addresses from nHub CEO Theodore Longji, setting the tone for “Igniting MSME Growth.” Teams dove into ideation, with early prototypes in E-Commerce and Fintech tracks already turning heads.
Day 2 (Nov 11): Mentorship marathon—judges like GIZ experts grilled teams on scalability, while workshops on AI ethics drew packed rooms. Late-night coding sessions fueled by Jos’s vibrant energy kept the innovation flowing.
Day 3 (Nov 12): Pitch frenzy and nHub@10 toasts. As winners were crowned, the crowd erupted in cheers, celebrating not just ideas but the unbreakable community spirit.
Bold & Beautiful Creators at HackJos 2025
As part of the innovation wave, ScoutSity and Bold & Beautiful Creators, showcased MyShop — E-Commerce for the Next Billion Users, a zero-tech, zero-fee platform designed to empower African MSMEs through inclusive digital commerce. The project demonstrated how AI tools and automation can simplify e-commerce, enabling creative teams and small businesses to scale effortlessly — even without technical expertise or heavy setup costs.
The Problem We Solved
Over 40 million African MSMEs remain excluded from online markets because existing e-commerce platforms charge high transaction fees (5–10%), demand complex setup steps, or require digital literacy that many local merchants don’t yet have. Our solution, MyShop, bridges this digital divide by enabling small vendors to start selling online using only their phone number — no email, no technical onboarding.
Key Innovations
- Phone-as-Identity: Merchants register instantly with a phone number; store creation takes seconds.
- Zero-Fee Wallet: Built-in wallet for fee-free payments, maximizing profit margins for MSMEs.
- Call-Based Fulfillment: Automated voice calls alert sellers to new orders, supporting offline-first operations.
- WhatsApp Integration: Merchants receive order notifications and manage sales from their mobile phones.
For the underserved vendor segment, such as Mama Gyang, a fresh produce vendor in Jos, these features work together to provide a straightforward, trust-driven commerce experience that allows her to reach a wider audience without having to keep track of dashboards or pay platform fees.
Business Model & Impact
MyShop runs on a sustainable, inclusive ecosystem where the platform remains free for merchants while revenue comes from its logistics arm, FoodPlus9ja.
This model ensures that the more MSMEs sell, the more the ecosystem grows, creating a virtuous cycle of empowerment and profitability.
This aligns with surging AI adoption in African MSMEs—recent reports show 60% growth in AI tools for e-commerce since 2024, positioning MyShop as a blueprint for inclusive scaling.
“HackJos reminded us that technology isn’t just for coders — it’s for every entrepreneur who dares to think differently,”
— Karld Theophilus, Team Lead; Ikechukwu Micheal, Developer; Ritse Johnson, Strategy & Operations Lead, Bold & Beautiful Creators.
HackJos 2025 Winners
| Place | Team/Project | Track | Key Innovation & Impact |
| 1st | AGRIVAULT | Financial Inclusion | AI-blockchain platform for farmers: Instant loans via inventory tracking, potentially unlocking $X million in rural credit. |
| 2nd | HARAJI | Logistics & Last-Mile | Rural marketplace app connecting traders to logistics—reduces delivery times by 40% for off-grid MSMEs. |
| 3rd | LALITA | Productivity Tools | AI scheduler for small ops: Automates payroll/scheduling, saving 20+ hours/week for busy entrepreneurs. |
These standout projects, judged on feasibility, innovation, and MSME alignment, each walked away with cash prizes and mentorship from GIZ—proving HackJos isn’t just about winning, but launching legacies.
Notable Speakers & Sessions
HackJos 2025’s Innovation Summit on Day 3 featured high-level panels with Nigeria’s top minds, reinforcing collaboration’s role of collaboration in MSME success. Key sessions included:
| Session Topic | Focus | Key Speakers & Insights |
| Building Sustainable MSMEs | Policy, green practices, and ecosystem building | Daser David (nHub Founder, DBI President): “Innovation bridges challenges and opportunities for MSMEs.” |
| From Idea to Impact | Turning prototypes into scalable ventures | Eric Nanle (nHub Executive Director), Moses Arnama (Futurefeat Founder): Emphasized mentorship for real-world deployment. |
| Tech-Driven Growth | Digital tools for productivity and markets | David Enyi (African Intelligence Founder), Bruce Lukas (Olatu Square Founder): Shared case studies on AI and e-commerce scaling. |
| Access to Finance and Markets for the Next Generation of MSMEs | Funding, linkages, and youth talent | Dankishiya Saleh Hadi (Angel Investor, Dankish Associates), Joy Buba (Young Innovators of Nigeria Executive Director): Shared strategies for empowering unbanked entrepreneurs. |
Partners of HackJos 2025
HackJos 2025 was made possible by a vibrant ecosystem of partners who believe in the power of collaboration and innovation.
Official Partners Include:
THRIVE Media Africa · PLACERHER · Young Innovators Nigeria · ThinkHub · 28Hub (Twenty Eight Hub) · Startup Arewa · ISN Hubs · SBTS Group · Tedge News (tedgenews.ng) · My Ajia · Kefiano Creative Hub · GreenEden · ScoutSity · The Zango · SmartWeb · PureEco · LoveTech (Home of Technology) · Maxim · Lint · Jos Business Hub · African Intelligence · Axia Hub
These partners provided mentorship, logistics, and community support to make the event a success.
Supported By (Sponsors)
The 2025 edition was supported by leading development and government organizations, reinforcing the event’s focus on sustainable and inclusive growth:
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
- SEDEC (Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Development Cluster)
- DBI (Digital Bridge Institute)
- PLASMIDA (Plateau State Microfinance Development Agency)
- German Cooperation (Deutsche Zusammenarbeit)
- HackJos 2025 (Igniting MSME Growth Through Innovation) X nhub
Their involvement highlights a shared vision for empowering startups and small businesses across Nigeria through innovation and collaboration.
Photo Highlights
Key Takeaways from HackJos 2025
- Innovation thrives where community exists — collaboration is Nigeria’s biggest tech advantage.
- AI adoption is growing fast among startups and MSMEs.
- nHub’s decade-long investment in youth and innovation continues to shape the Northern tech ecosystem.
- Partnerships with GIZ, SEDIN, and DAI show strong institutional belief in Nigeria’s tech-driven future.
- Next Steps for Innovators: With nHub@10 behind us, watch for HackJos alumni in 2026—apply lessons from AGRIVAULT’s blockchain pivot to supercharge your own MSME tools.
- Jos as Innovation Hub: As Daser David envisioned, the Plateau is proving “great ideas can come from anywhere”—with nHub’s training of thousands and policy influence, Northern Nigeria is set to lead Africa’s digital wave
💬 Final Thoughts
HackJos 2025 was more than an event — it was a statement.
A statement that Northern Nigeria is ready to lead Africa’s next innovation wave, and that bold creators, developers, and thinkers are already laying the foundation for inclusive, AI-driven growth.
As nHub celebrates 10 years of impact, ScoutSity and Bold & Beautiful Creators are proud to have been part of a story that continues to redefine what’s possible for Nigerian startups.✨ Stay connected: Follow Creative Tech Africa for more coverage of African innovation and digital transformation stories.
The closing mantra rang true: “HackJos is back—let’s ignite growth.” Through tech, teamwork, and resilience, this event reaffirmed Jos’s entrepreneurial energy, empowering MSMEs to drive Nigeria’s prosperity.
Related Reads: Fuel Your Next Breakthrough
– [Why Jos is Nigeria’s Secret AI Hub] – Unpack the Plateau’s rising tech scene.
– [Nigeria’s AI Boom for Startups] – Practical tools echoing HackJos tracks.
– [AI in Africa: Risks or Growth?] – Deeper dive into MSME futures.
