Africa Deep Tech Challenge 2026: The Laptop LLM Challenge

A systems engineering competition to build on-device language model applications that run without cloud dependencies — on standard laptops with 8GB RAM and integrated graphics (no discrete GPU). The challenge: “On-Device AI for the Hardware Africa Actually Has.”

Participants build AI solutions across seven problem domains: math & scientific reasoning, healthcare, agriculture, creative writing, coding assistants, enterprise productivity, and autonomous agents — using llama.cpp with GGUF weights, running 100% offline.

Timeline

• Gate 1 (Submission): Due 25 August 2026 — open-source repo, REPORT.md, screenshots/video, 2-minute demo

• Gate 2 (Audit & Q&A): 8–29 September 2026

• Gate 3 (Finals): Due 17 October 2026 — final pitch deck and live defense

Prizes ($20,000 total pool)

• Grand Prize: $8,000 + 6-month scale-up residency

• Runner-Up: $4,000 + 3-month residency

• Best Integration Award: $3,000

• Best Localisation Award: $1,500

• GPU credits for finalists (up to 10) and semi-finalists (up to 20)

Eligibility

Open to residents of eligible African countries, solo or in teams of up to 3. See the official rules on DevPost for the complete country list and requirements: https://adtc-2026.devpost.com/rules