NACOS
NACOS National Hackathon

BuildX NACOS

Build Innovative Solutions to Problems in Nigeria; ranging from politics, health, education and payments.

VirtualOrganised by Vice President (Int'l Affairs)
Start team application

Event date

Sep 8, 2026

Location

Virtual

Prize pool

₦1,000,000

Apply before

Sep 19, 2026

About

Build beyond the classroom.

Turn an idea into working national impact.

BuildXNACOS 2026 is a national student innovation challenge powered by NACOS National, bringing together student developers, innovators and tech enthusiasts from across Nigeria to turn ideas into practical solutions. Participants will work on real-world challenges, receive mentorship and technical support, and compete for prizes and opportunities to showcase their solutions to industry leaders, investors and ecosystem partners. The programme will run virtually across Nigeria and culminate in a physical National Demo Day in Lagos, where selected teams will pitch their solutions.

Prize breakdown

Build. Win. Grow.

1st Place₦500,000
2nd Place₦300,000
3rd Place₦200,000

Timeline

Registration opensAug 28, 2026
Registration closesSep 6, 2026
Hack startsSep 8, 2026
Hack endsSep 20, 2026
Submission deadlineOct 7, 2026

46

Registered

46

Teams

27

Submitted

Challenge tracks

Pick a problem worth solving.

01

Open Payments & FinTech

02

Artificial Intelligence

03

Digital Innovation

Judging criteria

Innovation20%
Problem Understanding15%
Technical Implementation20%
Impact & Scalability20%
User Experience10%
Presentation & Demo15%

Rules

Team size: 3–5

Solo: Not allowed

Eligibility

What every team needs.

  • 1Must be a registered NACOS student/member
  • 2Must be currently enrolled in a Nigerian tertiary institution
  • 3Must participate as a team
  • 4Solution must address a real-world problem
  • 5Solution must fall under at least one of the approved BuildX tracks
  • 6Participants must be available for scheduled mentorship and evaluation sessions
  • 7Teams must submit their solution before the stated deadline
  • 8Teams must be available for the final Demo Day if selected

Represent your school

Ready to build?

Any Portal user can form a team with other users from their school, regardless of membership status. Multiple teams may represent the same school, and valid teams are accepted immediately.

Team application
Submit your build.
Complete every required question before the deadline.
  • A registered Portal school for every team member
  • All team members must belong to the same school
  • The exact team size configured for this hackathon
  • Immediate acceptance after all rules are satisfied
Open protected application Already on a team? Submit your project