Picture a founder in Lagos with a payments idea, a smart contract developer in Nairobi, and a designer in Accra. Between them, they have the skills the product needs and firsthand knowledge of three markets.
Team1 Africa is officially here to bring people like them together.
For years, Team1 communities across Africa have grown city by city, each with its own focus. Some leaned into hackathons and university programs. Others filled rooms with art showcases, creator meetups, and networking nights, bringing local artists into the ecosystem alongside the developers. Team1 Africa links those communities into one network.
Our track record so far:
120+ events across the continent
3,500+ attendees
250+ developers activated
10 countries connected
Local Chapters, One Network
Lagos and Johannesburg have different customers and different developer cultures. A program that works in one city usually needs local changes to work in the other.
So our country leads stay close to their local scenes and run the programs that work there. Team1 Africa sits one layer up. If one country builds a university program that turns attendees into active builders, we share that playbook so the next country can adapt it instead of starting from zero.
The Hard Part Comes After the Workshop
Getting someone into a room is easy. But most people get lost in the weeks after.
Imagine a student leaving their first Avalanche workshop. They deploy a test contract that night, then get stuck, with no one to ask for help and no idea what to do next. Without a clear next step, plenty of people in that position drift away.
We built Team1 Africa around that next step. First-timers find a local community to keep learning with. Developers who want more can join hackathons, meet teammates, and get mentorship and technical support while they build.
For founders with a working product, we open routes into Avalanche programs and partners. Three Build Games teams have made the trip from early building to funding, and we want to open the same opportunities for high-quality projects built on Avalanche.
Why Avalanche Fits Here
Many African builders tackle everyday problems, like sending money across borders or reaching customers that banks overlook. They also build for markets with different rules in every country.
Avalanche lets teams launch their own custom L1 blockchains with their own settings. A payments app can charge fees in a stablecoin. A regulated fintech app can keep its chain permissioned and stay connected to the rest of the Avalanche network. A team can shape its chain around a single country’s rules this year and plug into the wider ecosystem when it’s ready to expand.
Bringing Universities In
If you walk through a computer science department almost anywhere in Africa, you’ll meet plenty of students who have never experienced blockchain tech. We want to build a journey where education leads to participation, participation leads to building, and building leads to bigger opportunities.
We’ll bring workshops, build challenges, and hackathons to campuses, and we’ll recruit student ambassadors who keep things moving between our visits. One event isn’t enough. We want this year’s students mentoring next year’s.
Pick Your Starting Point
Wherever you’re starting, the next step is close.
New to Avalanche? Our workshops start from the beginning and build toward your first deployed contract.
Builders with a project underway can head to Builder Hub for docs, courses, and grant programs. Team1’s Mini Grants go up to $10,000, and Accelerator Grants reach $30,000.
For lecturers and campus club leads, we’ll bring a workshop or hackathon to your university and connect your students with Team1 chapters throughout the world.
And if you design, write, or organize, there’s opportunity for you here. Every product that ships needs people who understand design, distribution, and the market it serves.
Already Doing the Work
People across Africa have been building for years in dozens of cities all at once. Team1 Africa gives them one network to build in together. Come to an event, say hello on Telegram, and start building with us.
One Continent. Many Voices. Team1 Africa.
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Africa is building. love to see Team1 connecting the dots across the continent 🔺🌍