The StartUp Lab, an accelerator program, has organized a hackathon competition in Tamale to promote the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered solutions in Ghana. The initiative, supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), aims to improve maternal, newborn, and child healthcare in underserved communities in Northern Ghana.
The three-day StartUp Lab Hackathon 2026, themed “AI for Nurturing Care: Accelerating Maternal, Newborn and Under-5 Survival in Northern Ghana,” brought together young innovators to develop practical, affordable, and locally relevant technological solutions to community-level healthcare challenges. The hackathon sought to harness young people’s creativity and technical expertise to develop AI-assisted tools to strengthen community health services, improve caregiver support, and facilitate the early identification of maternal and child health risks.
At the end of the competition, Team Laafia emerged as the overall winner with an offline-first mobile application designed to help Community Health Officers prioritize home visits to pregnant women, newborns, and children under five requiring attention. Team Laafi placed second with an offline-first Android application designed to improve referrals for maternal and newborn care, while NurtureAI took third place with an AI-powered community health platform.
Dr. Peter Gyamfi Kwarteng, the Chief of Field Office for UNICEF in Tamale, stated that the hackathon formed part of the organization’s efforts to equip young people with the skills, mentorship, and opportunities needed to develop solutions to pressing development challenges. He indicated that with support from KOICA, UNICEF was working with MEST Africa to help young innovators transform their ideas into practical solutions capable of improving the well-being of children and communities.
Dr. Kwarteng noted that the hackathon was the second of its kind organized in Tamale, following an earlier edition that focused on safely managed sanitation. He emphasized the importance of community-informed solutions, stating that having these solutions would better enable them to serve the people in Ghana. The selection process was designed to promote equitable opportunities and ensure that the innovations reflected the experiences and needs of local communities.
Dr. Zakaria Adam, a Public Health Physician Specialist with the Ghana Health Service and Acting Deputy Director of Public Health for the Upper East Region, commended the participating teams for developing solutions to address practical challenges in maternal and child healthcare. He highlighted the importance of integrating technology into healthcare delivery, especially with health workers facing heavy workloads and personnel shortages.
The StartUp Lab is a six-month accelerator program for tech-enabled startups developing solutions for children and adolescents in Ghana. Since 2019, it has supported more than 122 early- and growth-stage social impact ventures, reaching over 250,000 children, adolescents, and young people across Ghana, with KOICA investing about US$2.2 million in the initiative.
Key points
- The hackathon aimed to improve maternal, newborn, and child healthcare in underserved communities in Northern Ghana.
- Team Laafia emerged as the overall winner with an offline-first mobile application.
- The StartUp Lab has supported over 122 social impact ventures, reaching over 250,000 children and young people in Ghana.
