Africa Creative Market (ACM), in partnership with Ascend Studios Foundation, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Co-Creation Hub Africa (CcHub), is pleased to announce the launch of the ACM Hackathon 2025. Applications are now open for this pan-African innovation sprint, which carries a ₦10 million prize for the winning team.

This year’s theme — “Distribute Africa: Hacking the Future of Music & Film Access” — calls on Africa’s brightest tech and creative talents to design solutions that transform how music and film are distributed, protected, and monetized across the continent.

“At ACM, our goal is to bring innovation into the creative sector in a big way — using the brightest of African talents to solve our most urgent creative economy challenges.” — Inya Lawal, Founder, Africa Creative Market

The ACM Hackathon will take place from September 16 to 19, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria. Over four days, multidisciplinary teams will work on bold ideas to fix the distribution bottlenecks holding back Africa’s film and music industries — including piracy, poor infrastructure, limited discovery tools, and revenue leakage.

This hands-on sprint is designed to unlock tangible, tech-enabled platforms with real commercial potential, supported by top-tier mentorship, investor access, and post-hackathon incubation.

The vision is to ignite Africa-led innovation that transforms distribution into a thriving, inclusive, and profitable ecosystem for creators. The mission is to equip innovators with the tools, partnerships, and platforms needed to develop scalable, impact-driven solutions.

The challenge? Africa’s creative distribution systems are fragmented, insecure, and poorly monetized — leaving creators underserved and their content underexposed.

The solution? Build smart, mobile-first, AI-powered platforms that address access, revenue, protection, and visibility — all tailored to the realities of African creators and consumers.

Team Structure and Expectations

Teams must consist of 3–5 members with a balance of skills in:

• Software development
• UI/UX design
• Content strategy
• Legal or business modeling
• Data science (optional)

Participants will work from ACM (Landmark Event Centre) on September 16, 17, and 19, and from CcHub’s headquarters on September 18.

Daily hacking runs from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with breakfast, lunch, high-speed WiFi, and mentorship provided throughout.

What Winners Will Receive

The ₦10,000,000 prize is just the beginning. Winning teams will gain:

• Access to AWS Technical support and Credit Programs
• Incubation with CcHub Startup Studio
• Investor engagement during the Demo Day pitch event
• Media and platform visibility across ACM’s global ecosystem
• Legal/IP support, business development, and go-to-market strategy

Key Dates

• Applications Open: Monday, August 29, 2025
• Deadline to Apply: Friday, September 5, 2025
• Notification of Selected Teams: Monday, September 8, 2025
• Hackathon Dates: September 16–19, 2025
• Demo Day & Final Pitch: Friday, September 19, 2025

How to Apply

To apply, visit: www.acmhackathon.com
Eligibility: Open to African innovators aged 18–40 with a passion for building Africa-focused creative-tech solutions.

Media & Contact

Media Contact: 
Email: info@acmhackathon.com
Phone: +2349167667376