A hackathon (a word created from “hack” and “marathon”) is a collaborative solution development event. The goal of a hackathon is to jointly find useful, creative or entertaining solutions to given problems in a limited period of time. Participants in hackathons usually come from different areas and countries and often work on their projects in cross-functional teams.

No, participation in the Hackathon is free of charge. For the in-person event in Fes, Morocco, we will cover travel and accommodation costs for two team members. Additional team members are welcome but will need to cover their own expenses.

No, you cannot apply alone. When applying, your team must have at least 2 members (we accept teams with a maximum of 3 members). Make sure you know the email addresses of all your team members before you sign up. Only one application per team is required.

Yes, sure! We are looking for innovators with ideas to develop during the Hackathon. Teams with prototypes are also eligible to apply, but established businesses are not. In the application form, please describe your solution or idea and explain your progress so far.

The moderation, input sessions and team activities will be held in English. So, we require participants to be fluent in English. Keep in mind that we will have participants from all over the Mediterranean Region, so not all will understand your mother tongue. However, if there is another common language in your team, the teams can also work in another national language. Although some of our mentors speak Arabic, French and Spanish, we cannot guarantee that the experts and mentors will be able to support you in the chosen language.

The winning teams will receive between 1000 and 3000 EUR in prizes and will benefit from a tailored one-on-one coaching to help you take your idea to the next level. This support includes defining your customer profile and value proposition, as well as planning the implementation of your minimum viable product (MVP) in the field.

The Intellectual Property (IP) of your solution belongs to you and your team. As we are trying to propose solutions to water and climate change challenges in the Mediterranean Region through collective intelligence, we would encourage you to provide open-source information, so in case you don’t continue with the idea, some other entrepreneur in another geographic region can. On the other hand, having it online might be a great reference to find funding opportunities. In any case, in your solution board, you will let us know if we can publish it online, or not.

Our aim is that the results will be practically used after the Hackathon to help overcome water and climate change challenges in the Mediterranean Region. To make sure that your prototypes become viable solutions after the hackathon, you could receive support from our start-up program. Just get in touch with us.

The financial support is aimed at the development of the idea and/or implementation of the prototype in the community. The funding is conditional upon the team’s committed participation in the coaching sessions and bootcamp, a proposed implementation plan that meets quality and feasibility expectations and genuinely seeks to improve the quality of life for families in vulnerable situations, the need for the funds, and the willingness to continue with the business idea.