Across Africa, women face the greatest barriers to financial access, censorship-resistant communication, and digital autonomy, yet they remain the least represented in building the technologies that aim to solve these problems. Globally, women make up roughly 3% of open-source contributors. In African tech, they represent less than 8% of developers. And although women make up the majority of the unbanked worldwide, they are rarely included in designing the tools meant to protect privacy, enable savings, or expand financial freedom.

Hack4Freedom exists to help shift that reality.

We’re excited to announce Hack4Freedom 2026, a series of women-only, open-source, freedom-tech hackathons happening in Lagos, Nairobi, and Port Harcourt, organized by Evento. Our goal is simple: help more women learn, experiment, and build with Bitcoin, Lightning, Nostr, and eCash - and support them as they take their first steps into the global open-source ecosystem.

This is a two-week hybrid program built for women who want to understand freedom tech at a deeper level and apply that knowledge by actually shipping prototypes and getting grants to continue to work on their projects. Participants learn from experienced builders, collaborate in teams, and contribute to projects that matter.

Why Hack4Freedom Exists

Our team has spent years working in Bitcoin and has seen firsthand how few women, especially in the Global South, get the opportunity to build in this space. The imbalance affects the entire ecosystem: it limits ideas, limits reach, and leaves out the people who often benefit the most from open technologies.

Women in Nigeria, Kenya, and across the region face barriers like financial exclusion, unstable banking systems, unreliable identity systems, and communication challenges that Bitcoin and open protocols can help solve. Yet they are consistently underrepresented as contributors.

Hack4Freedom is our way of supporting the women who want to change that: by giving them technical training, mentorship, and a community of builders who want to see them succeed. Our focus is on practical skills, open-source workflows, and long-term opportunities, not quick wins or surface-level programming.

The 2026 Series: Three Cities, One Mission

Q1 — Lagos, Nigeria

Q2 — Nairobi, Kenya

Q3 — Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Official dates will be announced very soon!

Each hackathon follows the same two-week hybrid structure:

Week 1: In-Person Kickoff + Technical Workshops

Participants spend the first week learning Bitcoin, Lightning, Nostr, and eCash fundamentals, exploring protocol internals, and studying how to design for reliability, privacy, and user safety.

Week 2: Remote Building Phase

Teams collaborate through Discord, supported by mentors for code reviews, debugging, architecture guidance, and daily standups.

Demo Day

Each team presents their prototype to a panel of respected builders from across freedom tech. Top projects receive $5,000+ in Bitcoin prizes and further mentorship.

Hack4Freedom is open-source-first, women-only, and free to participate. All projects are developed in public repos.

What Participants Gain

👩‍💻 Hands-on experience building with Bitcoin, Lightning, Nostr, and eCash

🤝 Mentorship from contributors across the global FOSS ecosystem

📲 A working prototype and open-source repository

👯‍♀️ A peer community that extends beyond the program

🧡 Exposure to grants, bounties, fellowships, and job opportunities

✊ A pathway to becoming long-term contributors in freedom tech

Looking Back: Highlights from Hack4Freedom 2025

Our inaugural cohort in Kaduna brought together 20 women who built 8 open-source prototypes over two weeks. Many continued their work after Demo Day.

2024 Winning Teams

🥇 1st Place — LightningO

A Nostr + Lightning platform connecting global sponsors with local builders through bounties, gigs, and grants.

Winner: Aaliyah Junaid

🥈 2nd Place — BitSave

A Bitcoin-powered savings app with group goals and simple progress tracking.

Winners: Kareema Muhammad Hussaini, Amrah Uthman Sali

🥉 3rd Place — Bitstra

A lightweight Lightning tool enabling airtime, data, and bill payments without banks.

Winners: Divine Macaulay, Dinah Macaulay

Past Mentors & Speakers Included

Lorraine Marcel, Founder of BTCDADA
Charlene Fadirepo, Founder of Satoshi Sisterhood
Mary Kate Fain, Founder of Soapbox
Abubakar Nur Khalil, CEO of BTrust
Sarah White, GM of Africa Bitcoiners
Satoshee, Lead Designer, Africa Bitcoiners
Mubarak Aminu, Co-Founder of Tapnob
Oyindamola Oladapo, Bitcoin Open-Source Developer, Bitnob
Mogashni Naidoo, Co-Founder, Bitcoin Design Community
Satsie, Co-Organizer, Boston BitDevs
D++, Bitcoin educator, software engineer and Lightning evangelist
Claire Parkinson, Senior Ops Manager, ZBD
Kelvin Isievwore, Engineering Lead, BTrust
Stephanie Titcombe, Program Lead, BTrust
Sabina Waithira, Co-Founder, Tando

Their guidance shaped the culture of the event and set the tone for every cohort that will follow.

Why We Care at Evento

Evento is a woman-founded company working in Bitcoin and building tools that help communities gather and grow. Through our work in this space, we’ve seen how often women are left out of building freedom tech, even though they face many of the challenges that Bitcoin aims to address.

Women in the Global South make up a large share of the unbanked population and often lack reliable access to financial infrastructure, identity systems, and safe communication. These issues are solvable with open technologies, but the people most affected are rarely included in creating them.

Hack4Freedom is our effort to help shift that dynamic by giving more women the skills, support, and community they need to become builders.

Get Involved

👩🏾‍💻 Apply to Hack4Freedom 2026

For women developers (18+) ready to learn and build with Bitcoin and open protocols.

Apply here: Participant Application

🛠️ Become a Mentor

If you’ve contributed to Bitcoin, Lightning, Nostr, eCash, FOSS, UX, or protocol development, your experience can meaningfully support emerging builders.

Apply here: Speaker and Mentor Application

Help decentralize freedom-tech development and support women entering the ecosystem.

Fill out the form: Sponsor Application

See You in Lagos, Nairobi, and Port Harcourt

The next generation of freedom-tech builders is already here. They just need access, support, and a path into the work. Hack4Freedom is that path.

When women build, freedom follows.

Announcing Hack4Freedom 2026