Hashgraph Pledges $1M To Hedera Africa Hackathon

Hashgraph Ventures Manager Ltd, a venture capital fund, has pledged $1 million to the Hedera Africa Hackathon, Africa’s largest Web3 innovation initiative focused on accelerating digital transformation and economic inclusion across the continent.

The commitment will support selected projects emerging from the hackathon, with exceptional teams to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for potential investment. The move aligns with Hashgraph Ventures’ broader strategy of backing early-stage ventures developing real-world applications across blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and deep technologies.

The initiative is being delivered in partnership with The Hashgraph Association, a Swiss non-profit organisation supporting global adoption of the Hedera ecosystem, and the Exponential Science Foundation, which focuses on building and investing in breakthrough technologies. United Gulf Financial Services (UGFS) is also participating, bringing total equity investment commitments linked to the hackathon to $2 million. This is in addition to a $1 million prize pool contributed by The Hashgraph Association and Exponential Science Foundation.

Regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Hashgraph Ventures positions itself as a channel for institutional capital into Africa’s growing Web3 ecosystem, with a focus on governance, transparency, and investor protection.

“We are pleased that Hashgraph Ventures will be pledging $1 million to the Hedera Africa Hackathon as this not only reflects their commitment to support scalable, real-world adoption of DLT but also of the success that the Hedera Africa Hackathon has achieved becoming the largest Web3 hackathon globally,” said Kamal Youssefi, President of The Hashgraph Association.

“We believe Africa’s developer ecosystem holds immense potential to shape the future of decentralized finance, AI-driven innovation, and digital inclusion. The Hashgraph Association is keen to build the Web3 ecosystem across Africa and globally through partnerships such as the one with Hashgraph Ventures, Exponential Science, United Gulf Financial Services and others. This is just the beginning,” he added.

On his part, Dara Campbell, Senior Executive Officer of Hashgraph Ventures, said the pledge reflects the fund’s interest in emerging technology talent from Africa and other high-growth markets.

“We’re incredibly excited to support the next wave of Web3 and AI talent emerging from Africa and other high-growth markets. Our $1 million pledge goes beyond capital and brings the full weight of our global network and strategic partnerships across the Middle East, the US, and Asia to help founders scale. This hackathon aligns perfectly with our mission to empower emerging builders through tangible investment, institutional guidance, and long-term value creation,” he said.

The Hedera Africa Hackathon 2025 ran from August 1 to October 31, 2025, engaging developers, entrepreneurs, and students across more than 20 African cities. Participants were challenged to build Hedera-based solutions for sectors including finance, healthcare, telecommunications, sustainability, agriculture, and manufacturing, with an emphasis on the convergence of AI, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and quantum computing.

According to organisers, the hybrid online and onsite format attracted 13,000 developers and resulted in 1,300 project submissions, positioning the programme as one of the largest decentralised innovation initiatives on the continent.

The hackathon was supported by a network of regional and international partners, including Orange Middle East & Africa, UGFS, Sygnum Bank, Taylor Wessing, SwissCoast Saqqara, Object Computing, and DAR Blockchain, which handled local execution and community engagement.

“We are committed to the Hedera Africa Hackathon because we believe in the strong potential within the continent for the development of emerging technologies. We are pleased to see additional commitments to supporting the region, and hackathon, from investment firms and funds such as UGFS and Hashgraph Ventures,” said Dr. Paolo Tasca, Executive Chairman of Exponential Science Foundation.

Hashgraph Ventures focuses its investments on Web3, AI, and deep-tech companies working on distributed ledger technology, digital assets, and tokenisation models. The fund’s involvement in the hackathon also underscores Abu Dhabi’s growing role as a hub for regulated digital-asset management and venture capital, in line with FSRA’s emphasis on compliant and responsible capital deployment.