Emmanuel Kufre from Nigeria Wins $15,000 in BTC at TBD Hackathon
Block, Inc., a global technology leader in financial services, has announced the winners of the highly anticipated TBD Hackathon, a competition designed to promote innovation and technological advancement in payment solutions across Africa. Emmanuel Kufre, the grand prize winner, received $15,000 in Bitcoin for his creation of Blink – a decentralized wallet and payment processor tailored to freelancers. The event, held in partnership with the Africa Bitcoin Conference, tasked developers with creating innovative payment solutions using tbDEX, TBD’s open-source money protocol.
“The creativity and technical talent displayed in the TBD Hackathon has been inspiring,” said Angie Jones, Global VP of Developer Relations at Block. “The talent across the continent is exceptional, and the winning solutions demonstrate a strong understanding of the challenges facing a pan-African payment system. These projects have the potential to transform financial transactions and pave the way for future financial solutions across Africa.”
Hackathon participants addressed key challenges such as limited banking access, high transaction fees, and inefficient cross-border payments. Teams, consisting of 1-2 developers, utilized the tbDEX SDK to create payment applications within a sandbox environment.
Emmanuel Kufre’s Blink, a decentralized payment processor designed for freelancers, won the top prize for its focus on the $28 billion African gig economy. The app is currently in beta testing across five countries.
Farida Bemba Nabourema, Convener of the Africa Bitcoin Conference, emphasized, “The Africa Bitcoin Conference is committed to fostering a thriving Bitcoin ecosystem in Africa. We are proud to have hosted the TBD Hackathon, which showcased the innovative solutions our community can offer to address challenges like financial inclusion, cross-border payments, and transparency.”
Other notable projects included tbDEX Go, created by Andrew Glago and Eloke Ikiliagwu, which connects travelers with local payment solutions, and Igbigi, developed by Achego Tamunobelema and Fabari Agbora, an app that enables private app-to-app and app-to-bank transfers. Both teams received $10,000 and $5,000 in BTC, respectively.
The hackathon’s panel of judges included industry leaders such as Aaron Suplizio from TBD, Adewale Abati from TBD, Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card, and Rizèl Scarlett, Staff Developer Advocate at TBD, among others.
Through this initiative, Block reaffirms its dedication to open-source technologies and the developer community. While the TBD business has officially concluded, its decentralized identity efforts continue through the Decentralized Identity Foundation. To learn more or contribute, visit Block’s Open Source GitHub organization.
About Block Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), formerly Square, Inc., is a global technology company focused on financial services. With brands like Square, Cash App, TIDAL, and TBD, Block builds tools to increase access to the economy, offering solutions for businesses and individuals alike.
About the Africa Bitcoin Conference The Africa Bitcoin Conference (ABC) is Africa’s premier event focused on Bitcoin adoption, bringing together experts, innovators, and enthusiasts to explore Bitcoin’s potential in driving economic growth and development across the continent. ABC fosters networking, learning, and collaboration within the blockchain community.
