AI Sovereignty: Cortex Hub Launches MCP Hackathon

Emma Okonji

The Cortex Hub has announced the launch of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Hackathon Africa 2025, a continent-wide initiative designed to embed African languages, culture, and priorities into the next generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The MCP Hackathon Africa 2025 is a strategic effort to ensure Africa plays a leading role in shaping the infrastructure of Artificial General Intelligence. By contributing African languages, legal systems, and development priorities to MCP servers, participants will help safeguard digital sovereignty and reduce dependence on closed technologies. 

A total prize pool of $9,500 will be awarded, with a grand prize of $5,000 for the best overall solution, $3,500 for outstanding innovation, and $1,000 for excellence in execution. Winners will also gain visibility at AfricaCom, one of the continent’s largest technology events, where they will present their work to investors and industry leaders.

Patron of The Cortex Hub, Andile Ngcaba, said, “The Model Context Protocol is Africa’s opportunity to move from being consumers of AI to creators of the standards that govern it. By coding MCP servers for our towns and cities, participants will be embedding African contexts, cultures, and priorities into the very fabric of AI’s evolution.”

Group CEO of Datacentrix, Ahmed Mohamed, said: “Datacentrix’s sponsorship of the MCP Hackathon reflects our ongoing, long-term commitment to cultivating local talent, fostering African innovation and, ultimately, helping to shape a digital future where our continent is not on the sidelines but at the very centre of global AI development.”