GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon

Announcing the first MENA Ignite Hackathon

The GSMA is pleased to announce that the inaugural Middle-East & North Africa (MENA) Open Gateway Hackathon will be starting in July 2026 and completing in October 2026.

Recruiting Hackers from the Middle-East & North Africa

The GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon is looking for hackers, developers, students and entrepreneurs who want to change the World.

The MENA Ignite Hackathon will require teams to use both CAMARA network APIs and AI to create real-world solutions to regional challenges.

Online Hackathon

The Hackathon will be online and run for approximately 3 months.

The Hackathon winners will be asked to send a representative to present their winning solution to telecoms executives in Doha, Qatar at this years Mobile World Congress Doha 2026 (MWCD26) in 8-10 Nov 2026. Travel and accommodation will be paid for.

Cash Prizes

The Hackathon will offer generous cash prizes to the top three winning teams.

Mentors & Judges

The GSMA would like to invite members from the Middle-East & North Africa region to volunteer as mentors, to help guide the teams to develop technically sophisticated solutions that have an immediate application within the region, as well as a judging panel of senior telecoms executives who are able to support the shortlisted teams’ pitches and review their prototypes.

Next steps

Full details of the inaugural MENA Ignite Hackathon will be published in July and teams will be able to start registration.

To find out more about Open Gateway Hackathons read this article on the Open Gateway Hackathon at MWC Barcelona this March.