{"id":46954,"date":"2026-06-16T17:58:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/?post_type=gsma_theme_events&#038;p=46954"},"modified":"2026-06-16T18:07:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:07:53","slug":"gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon","status":"publish","type":"gsma_theme_events","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/","title":{"rendered":"GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 id=\"h-announcing-the-first-mena-ignite-hackathon\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Announcing the first MENA Ignite Hackathon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GSMA is pleased to announce that the inaugural Middle-East &amp; North Africa (MENA) Open Gateway Hackathon will be starting in July 2026 and completing in October 2026.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-recruiting-hackers-from-the-middle-east-amp-north-africa\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recruiting Hackers from the Middle-East &amp; North Africa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon is looking for hackers, developers, students and entrepreneurs who want to change the World.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MENA Ignite Hackathon will require teams to use both CAMARA network APIs and AI to create real-world solutions to regional challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-online-hackathon\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Online Hackathon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hackathon will be online and run for approximately 3 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-cash-prizes\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cash Prizes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Hackathon will offer generous cash prizes to the top three winning teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-mentors-amp-judges\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mentors &amp; Judges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GSMA would like to invite members from the Middle-East &amp; 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&#8217; pitches and review their prototypes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-next-steps\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Next steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Full details of the inaugural MENA Ignite Hackathon will be published in July and teams will be able to start registration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To find out more about Open Gateway Hackathons read this article on the Open Gateway Hackathon at MWC Barcelona this March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/open-gateway-hackathon-at-talent-arena-showcases-developer-innovation-using-network-apis\/\">Article<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"45869\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55127910545_2ff14bfdf2_o-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A group celebrates on stage as one person holds a &quot;1st Place&quot; plaque at the Open Gateway Hackathon.\" class=\"wp-image-45869\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55127910545_2ff14bfdf2_o-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55127910545_2ff14bfdf2_o-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55127910545_2ff14bfdf2_o-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55127910545_2ff14bfdf2_o-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55127910545_2ff14bfdf2_o-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"45843\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125786723_e33600a9f5_o-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Three people discuss around a table with laptops at an event; &quot;OPEN GATEWAY HACKATHON&quot; on screen behind them.\" class=\"wp-image-45843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125786723_e33600a9f5_o-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125786723_e33600a9f5_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125786723_e33600a9f5_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125786723_e33600a9f5_o.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" data-id=\"45844\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125995775_ae4fb52344_o-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Large group of people working on laptops at tables in a dimly lit indoor tech event or hackathon.\" class=\"wp-image-45844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125995775_ae4fb52344_o-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125995775_ae4fb52344_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125995775_ae4fb52344_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/55125995775_ae4fb52344_o.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Announcing the first MENA Ignite Hackathon The GSMA is pleased to announce that the inaugural Middle-East &amp; North Africa (MENA) Open Gateway Hackathon will be starting in July 2026 and completing in October 2026. Recruiting Hackers from the Middle-East &amp; North Africa The GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon is looking for hackers, developers, students [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":46956,"template":"","meta":{"start_timestamp":"1782864000","end_timestamp":"1793318400","image":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2.png","json":{"gsma_event_day_start":"2026-07-01","gsma_event_day_end":"2026-10-30","gsma_event_time_start":"","gsma_event_time_end":"","gsma_event_timezone":"0","gsma_event_venue":"Online ","gsma_event_location":"Remote - Middle-East & North Africa Region","gsma_event_map":"{\"lat\":25.2854473,\"lng\":51.53103979999999}","gsma_event_registration":"","gsma_event_registration_fa":"","gsma_event_speakers":""}},"tags":[184,260,291,183,180],"event_categories":[24],"algolia_discover_state":[97],"algolia_discover_topic":[],"algolia_discover_region":[119],"algolia_discover_series":[],"class_list":["post-46954","gsma_theme_events","type-gsma_theme_events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-api","tag-gsma-open-gateway","tag-mena","tag-network-api","tag-open-gateway","event_categories-open-gateway","algolia_discover_state-show","algolia_discover_region-middle-east-and-north-africa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon - Open Gateway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The countdown begins for the Announcing-inaugural-GSMA-MENA-Open-Gateway-Hackathon. Join us in July 2026 and showcase your innovation!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Announcing-inaugural-GSMA-MENA-Open-Gateway-Hackathon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Be part of the inaugural GSMA MENA Open Gateway Hackathon. Collaborate, innovate, and win prizes while tackling regional challenges.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Open Gateway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MobileWorldLive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T18:07:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mobileworldlive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon - Open Gateway","description":"The countdown begins for the Announcing-inaugural-GSMA-MENA-Open-Gateway-Hackathon. Join us in July 2026 and showcase your innovation!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Announcing-inaugural-GSMA-MENA-Open-Gateway-Hackathon","og_description":"Be part of the inaugural GSMA MENA Open Gateway Hackathon. Collaborate, innovate, and win prizes while tackling regional challenges.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/","og_site_name":"Open Gateway","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MobileWorldLive","article_modified_time":"2026-06-16T18:07:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon","twitter_site":"@mobileworldlive","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/","name":"GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon - Open Gateway","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2.png","datePublished":"2026-06-16T17:58:26+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-16T18:07:53+00:00","description":"The countdown begins for the Announcing-inaugural-GSMA-MENA-Open-Gateway-Hackathon. Join us in July 2026 and showcase your innovation!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2.png","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"A young woman in a patterned headscarf sits at a computer, looking at the camera, with others working in the background. On the left, white text on a red background reads: \"MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon Launching July 2026. Find out more."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/gsma_events\/gsma-mena-ignite-open-gateway-hackathon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GSMA MENA Ignite Open Gateway Hackathon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/","name":"Open Gateway","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/#organization","name":"Open Gateway","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GSMA-Logo-Red-RGB_square.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GSMA-Logo-Red-RGB_square.jpg","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"Open Gateway"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MobileWorldLive","https:\/\/x.com\/mobileworldlive"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_events\/46954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/gsma_theme_events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_events\/46954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46961,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsma_theme_events\/46954\/revisions\/46961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46954"},{"taxonomy":"event_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_categories?post=46954"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_state?post=46954"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_topic?post=46954"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_region?post=46954"},{"taxonomy":"algolia_discover_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/solutions-and-impact\/gsma-open-gateway\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/algolia_discover_series?post=46954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}