Four young Kenyan women have emerged as the overall winners of the third edition of the GirlCode Kenya Hackathon, held at Konza Technopolis.

Mary Wangui, Linet Mugwanja, Aisha Barasa and Cynthia Chepkorir won the two-day competition with Naulisako. This is an AI-powered digital fare collection platform designed to streamline public transport payments.

The platform also automates reconciliation for vehicle owners and generates sales records to improve financial tracking and transparency.

The hackathon was organised by Absa Bank Kenya, GirlCode and the Technopolis Development Authority. It brought together 44 young women, including students, graduates, developers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Moses Okundi, Chief Information Officer at Absa Bank Kenya, said the initiative reflects the bank’s commitment to digital inclusion and youth empowerment.

“At Absa Bank Kenya, we believe digital skills and access to technology are powerful enablers of economic opportunity. Our partnership with GirlCode over the past three years demonstrates our commitment to creating pathways for more young women to participate, innovate, and lead in the digital economy.”

The Bots team finished second with Biashara Bot. This digitises financial record-keeping for underserved and unbanked small businesses. Korva took third place with Korva Creatives Economy. This is a platform designed to help digital creators consolidate revenue, engagement data and intellectual property income.

The top three teams received laptops, tablets, Bluetooth speakers, headsets and books.

Speaking on behalf of the winning team, Linet Mugwanja said Naulisako was inspired by challenges in Kenya’s public transport sector and could make payments more efficient and transparent.

Speaking during the awards ceremony, Josephine Ndambuki, Chief Manager, Business Development and Innovation at the Technopolis Development Authority, said,

“Hosting the GirlCode Kenya Hackathon reflects our commitment to creating opportunities for young women to develop their skills, test their ideas, and build solutions to real-world challenges. We want to see more young women become innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology leaders shaping Africa’s digital future.”

Kenya was the sixth and final stop in the 2026 GirlCode Pan-African Hackathon Series, following events in South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Botswana and Uganda.

The Pan-African winners will be announced on 12 October 2026, with the winning team set to receive R100,000 (about KSh790,655). The winning SME will receive incubation support to scale its solution.

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