Build Bout Valentine Hackathon
Build Bout Valentine Hackathon is an in-person hackathon held in February 2026, aligned to champion innovation. We welcome amateurs, freelancers, developers, educators, and students to build fintech applications using Vercel tools. Come solo or form a team and build innovative financial-technology solutions powered by PayHero.
The event is free to join just bring your laptop + charger and extension, have an idea, and zeal to learn and prompt. Vercel v0 will provide free credits so you can hack without worrying about dev costs. Sign up to receive v0 credits before February 12 2026.
Valentine Bounty: Ksh 50,000 cash + v0 credits for winning teams + seedballs.
Please Sign up through this link to get Vercel credits and seed balls to support our environment
Hackathon Focus
To keep things fair, your first line of code must be written at the event and payments must be done with PayHero.
ValHac themes include:
Payments & Transfers – seamless peer-to-peer or merchant payments
AI and Payments
SaaS - Subscription based services.
Web3 to Web2 payments
GIS & Payments – location based payments for enterprise service.
IoT - IoT and PayHero
Wildcard – any other fintech innovation using PayHero
Rules
You are an active participant, no spectators.
The code must be in a public Github repo and hosted on Vercel, team participants must contribute the the repo.
All projects must be integrated with PayHero API
Projects may build upon existing work, but teams must create at least one completely new feature during the hackathon and clearly specify which feature was developed at the event.
Work must primarily be your own.
Must be present in-person at the hackathon to create and demo your project. No remote participation.
Event Schedule
Date: Saturday, 14th February 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM (GMT+3)
Venue: UoE in Chepkoilel, Kenya.
8:00 – 8:30 AM | Arrival, Registration & Setup
Guest check-in and badge collection
Wi‑Fi access and workspace setup
Light networking with fellow builders
9:00 – 9:45 AM | Welcome & Opening Remarks
Welcome note and event overview
Introduction to the Build Bout Community
Overview of the day’s agenda and buildathon flow
10:00 – 13:00 AM | Build Session
3 hours to build while
Socializing and Snacking
and Throwing seedballs
13:00 – 10:30 AM | Lunch & Networking break
A meal, drinks, and chill vibes
Share progress and ideas with other teams
An opportunity to throw seedballs.
2:00 – 4:30 PM | Demos & Show‑and‑Tell
Short demos from teams and solo builders
What you built, what worked, what broke
4:30 – 5:00 PM | Wrap‑Up & Closing
Winner Annoucement
Awarding Ceremony
Q & A
Where is it?
Hosted at University of Eldoret at Chepkiolel Main Campus.
What should I bring?
Idea, a laptop and charger. We provide Wi-Fi, zeal, coffee, camera and snacks.
Can I join solo?
Absolutely. You can hack alone or we’ll help you form a team during check-in.
Team size?
1–3 people.
Why should I attend?
Cash prize (KSh 50,000): Your project must integrate PayHero.
Vercel v0 credits: Build with Vercel tools or any preferred stack.
How will I get v0 credits?
Sign Up to receive Vercel v0 Credits. Credits will be distributed during the session.
Team formation?
We’ll match solo participants into balanced teams based on signup info.
Who can join?
Open to students, professionals, and hobbyists.
Registration cap?
Space is limited to about 50 participants. RSVPs will close at 70.
Judging criteria
Creativity, real-world usefulness, technical challenge, and presentation.
What’s included?
Lunch, coffee, and snacks throughout the day.
Demos
Each team gets 3–5 minutes to present their fintech solution.
Need help?
Organizers and mentors will be on site to assist with PayHero integration and v0 setup.