NEAR Kenya Hackathon Showcases Innovative Web3 Solutions to Curb Hunger Crisis in East Africa

NEAR Kenya, in partnership with Web3 Clubs successfully ran a hackathon that targeted solutions to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

The Hunger-Thon challenge was launched on November 16 2022 with a call out to developers and brought together some of the best and brightest minds from across Kenya and beyond to compete in a test of creativity, skill, and endurance.

The call-out was followed by an orientation held on November 17 2022 after a shortlisting process. 4 teams were shortlisted from a pool of eighteen (18) applicants.

The hackathon concluded with a luncheon on December 17 2022 when the solutions were showcased and winners were awarded for their brilliant solutions.

The projects were assessed by a team of judges from the agriculture and food sector, in both government and private sector, and the NEAR Blockchain technical team.

Assessment criteria included:

• Technological Implementation – How well was the idea executed?
• Design – Is the user experience and design of the project well thought out?
• Potential Impact – To addressing the hackathon theme and to the NEAR ecosystem
• Quality of the Idea – How creative and unique is the project? Is the project a high quality DeFi application? Is the solution efficiently addressing the problem statement?
• Project Sustainability – Implementation practicality, Context relevance/adaptability, how much input is required after the initial investment? Does it capitalize on existing resources?

Kenya is in the throes of the worst drought induced famine in the last four decades.

Famine and drought continue to ravage millions of Kenyans in arid and semi-arid lands with over 4.35 million Kenyans across 23 counties being affected. According to Oxfam, some neighboring countries have it worse with hunger likely to claim a life every 36 seconds.


Somalia’s peoples are experiencing the worst hunger crisis in living memory. The teams at the hackathon developed solutions that have the potential to make a real difference in addressing this crisis.

The use of blockchain technology in particular can help to improve the transparency and efficiency of supply chains, facilitate collaboration and funding for social causes, and improve access to education and food.

Below are the four teams with the solutions they created:

1.) Dprod


The team worked on a Web3 technology platform to bridge the gap between farmers and investors.

The platform will enable a transparent supply chain system and make it easier for farmers to access funding and investment, which could lead to economic growth in the agriculture sector.

2.) Mvua Fund (Shift a Life)


The team built a platform called Shift a Life. The platform brings together communities and organisations to collaborate on fighting food insecurity and climate change through the use of crowd-sourced funds.

3.) Twiga


The team worked on a solution called Hambre. This is a web system that aims to increase the productivity of arable lands by providing collaborative access to farming resources.

The solution has the potential to improve the efficiency and sustainability of farming operations which can have a positive impact on food security in the region.

4.) M-Sifa


The team developed a school feeding program on the blockchain.

The program allows donor organizations to pay for subsidized lunches via a dApp on the NEAR blockchain. The amount is credited to a virtual blockchain wallet linked to an NFC smart wristband which students use to tap to eat in under five seconds.

Mvua Fund (Shift a Life) were declared winners during an in-person presentation event held on December 17 2022