The First AI-Judged Vibe Coding Competition in Africa
The First AI-Judged Vibe Coding Competition in Africa
Most hackathons don’t reward the best product.
They reward the best pitch.
Slick slides. Smooth talking.
Mediocre builds still win.
So we removed pitching entirely.
Introducing: StartupTribunal — Sprint #1
A new kind of hackathon where:
→ Your GitHub repo is your pitch
→ AI agents judge your code (line-by-line)
→ No panels. No demo day. No bias
The best product wins. Full stop.
THE RULES
→ Use any AI tools you want. Cursor. Bolt. Claude Code. v0. GitHub Copilot. All of it.
→ Vibe coding is not just allowed — it is the point.
→ The code is the pitch. No slide decks. No demo videos. No panels. No judges who went to the wrong school.
→ Solo or team. Up to 3 members per team.
→ Best product wins. Full stop.
That’s it.
How You’re Judged
VibeJudge AI — powered by Amazon Bedrock — analyzes every submitted repo using 4 specialized agents:
→ code quality + security vulnerabilities
→ architecture + scalability
→ creativity + market fit
→ build authenticity
Every score comes with file:line evidence from your actual code. Not opinions. Not vibes. Citations.
🏆 PRIZE POOL
60% of every entry fee goes directly into the prize pool. Watch it grow in real time at startuptribunal.com/pool
The house seeds $100 into every sprint. 60% of every entry fee adds to the pool.
Sprint #1 prize split:
1st place: 57%
2nd place: 29%
3rd place: 14%
Prize pool grows every time someone registers.Every entry is equity-free. No strings. No equity asked.
YOU GET THIS REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU PLACE
Every participant receives a full VibeJudge report: file:line citations, security findings, performance analysis, innovation scoring, and a breakdown of exactly what to improve for Sprint#2.
This is the kind of code review that normally costs hundreds of dollars. You get it for $10.
The developer who places 47th gets a 6-page technical report telling them exactly what to fix. That's why they come back for Sprint #2.
You keep 100% of your company.
📅 Sprint Details
• Starts: May 1
• Duration: 30 days
• Entry: FREE to register
• Submission fee: $10
Sprint Timeline
May 1 → Registration opens, repo URL submitted (locked)
May 1-30 → Build phase
May 31 → Submission lock
June 1 → VibeJudge analyzes every repo.
June 1-3 → Results announced, prizes distributed (57/29/14 split)
WHO IS THIS FOR
→ Developers who are tired of pitching to rooms that don't understand what they built.
→ Founders who want feedback on their code, not their storytelling.
→ Builders in Africa and the diaspora who know the opportunities are here — they just needed someone to build the infrastructure.
→Teams who want to ship something real and get paid for the quality of their work.
If you've been waiting for a competition where the work speaks for itself: this is it.
🔗 Register (takes 10 seconds):
StartupTribunal | Startup Research in 2 Minutes
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: How do I enter?
A: Register at startuptribunal.com/pool, pay the $10 entry fee via card or mobile money, create your hacker profile, and submit your GitHub repo URL. That's it. Sprint opens May 1st — you can register now and submit your repo URL when you're ready to build.
Q: Can I enter as a team?
A: Yes. Teams of up to 3 members are allowed. Solo or team (up to 3). One person submits and pays the $10 entry fee. You split the prize internally. Your team submits one shared GitHub repo. The prize goes to the team, and you decide internally how to split it. Solo entries are equally welcome.
Q: Can I enter if I'm not based in Africa?
A: Yes. Sprint #1 is open to builders worldwide. The platform is Africa-first — the catalog is built around African market opportunities — but the competition has no geographic restriction. Current registrations span 14 countries including the US, UK, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and more.
Q: Is the $10 refundable?
A: The $10 entry fee is non-refundable once the sprint opens. If your submission is disqualified for fraud (submitting someone else's repo, submitting a framework as original work), you do not receive a refund.
Q: What payment methods are accepted?
A: Card (Visa, Mastercard), mobile money, and bank transfer via Flutterwave. If you're having trouble paying, email [email protected].
BUILDING + TOOLS
Q: Can I use AI coding tools?
A: Yes. All of them. That is the point. Cursor, Bolt, Claude Code, v0, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, ChatGPT for code — use whatever you want. VibeJudge AI does not penalise AI-assisted development. This is a vibe coding competition. The tool doesn't matter. What you built does.
Q: Can I build on an existing framework like Next.js or Django?
A: Yes. Every real product is built on a framework. We judge what you built during May 1–31, not what framework you started with. The distinction is: submitting the Next.js framework itself as your project is fraud. Building a fintech product using Next.js as your foundation is exactly how you should be building.
Q: Can I start coding before May 1st?
A: You can plan, design, and prepare. But VibeJudge evaluates commits made during the sprint window (May 1–31). Code that existed before May 1st is treated as context, not credit. Start the actual build on May 1st.
Q: Can I fork an existing open source project?
A: You can fork and build on top of it, but the InnovationScorer evaluates original work added during the sprint window. A fork with no meaningful additions will score very low. A fork where you built significant original functionality on top of the base will be judged on that original work.
Q: Can I work on multiple ideas?
A: Each registered participant submits one repo. Pick the idea you're most excited to build and go deep.
Q: Do I have to use an idea from the StartupTribunal catalog?
A: Strongly encouraged but not required. The catalog has 1,100+ validated ideas with TRIBUNAL scores, market analysis, and regional fit data. Using a catalog idea gives you a head start and shows InnovationScorer that you're working from validated signal, not guesswork.
REPO + SUBMISSION
Q: What are the repo requirements?
A: Your GitHub repository must be:
- Public (private repos cannot be analyzed)
- Owned by your registered GitHub account
- Actively committed to during May 1–31
- Original work, not a copy of someone else's project
Your repo URL is locked at submission. You cannot change it after registering.
Q: Does my repo need a README?
A: Yes. A README is required and is part of your InnovationScorer evaluation. It should explain what you built, why it matters, and how to run it. A strong README can meaningfully improve your score.
Q: Can I make the repo private after submitting?
A: No. Your repo must remain public through the judging period (through June 3rd). Making it private after submission results in disqualification.
Q: What happens at the May 31st lock?
A: At 23:59 UTC on May 31st, VibeJudge records the state of your repository. Commits after this timestamp are not included in the analysis. The repo itself stays public — we just analyze up to the lock point.
Q: I submitted the wrong repo URL. Can I change it?
A: Repo URLs are locked at submission to protect competition integrity. If you made a genuine mistake (typo in the URL, wrong repo selected), email [email protected] before May 1st and we'll review it case by case. After May 1st, no changes.
JUDGING
Q: How does VibeJudge AI work?
A: VibeJudge clones your GitHub repo on June 1st and runs AI agents in parallel on Amazon Bedrock:
BugHunter (Amazon Nova Lite) analyzes code quality, security vulnerabilities, error handling, and test coverage. It flags issues with file:line citations verified against your actual code.
PerformanceAnalyzer (Amazon Nova Lite) evaluates your architecture decisions, scalability approach, API design, and database patterns.
InnovationScorer (Claude Sonnet 4) assesses the creativity of your solution, how well you solved the stated problem, market fit, and documentation quality. This is the most heavily weighted agent.
AIDetection (Amazon Nova Micro) verifies that this is your original work built during the sprint window. It does NOT penalise AI-assisted development — it catches fraud (submitted someone else's repo, no sprint-window commits, framework submitted as original project). Every finding includes file:line citations. Not opinions — evidence.
Q: Is AI-generated code scored lower?
A: No. Explicitly no. This is a vibe coding competition. AI-generated code is expected and encouraged. AIDetection only flags fraud (submitting work that isn't yours or wasn't built during the sprint). The quality of what you ship is what's scored.
Q: What are the scoring weights?
A: InnovationScorer carries the most weight because the core question is: "Did you build something valuable and original?" BugHunter and PerformanceAnalyzer are evaluated in a sprint MVP context — we're not expecting production-grade security on a 30-day demo. Understanding of concepts matters more than complete implementation.
Q: Can I appeal my score?
A: Scores are final. However, if you believe your submission was incorrectly flagged for fraud or disqualified in error, email [email protected] with evidence. We review every disqualification appeal within 48 hours.
Q: What gets you disqualified?
A: Automatic disqualification with no refund:
- Submitting a repo you didn't build
- Submitting a framework or library as your project
- Zero commits from your GitHub account during
May 1–31
- Deliberately attempting to manipulate VibeJudge
scoring through prompt injection
- Making your repo private before results are
announced
Low quality is not disqualification. A bad score is not disqualification. Fraud is disqualification.
PRIZES + PAYMENT
Q: How is the prize pool calculated?
A: 60% of every $10 entry fee goes into the prize pool.
The pool is live and grows in real time at startuptribunal.com. At 100 entries that's $600. At 500 entries that's $3,000. Plus sponsor prize pool contributions which are added on top.
Q: How are prizes split?
A: Top 3 products win the prize pool:
1st place: 57% of pool
2nd place: 29% of pool
3rd place: 14% of pool
Q: How are prizes paid?
A: Via Flutterwave to your registered payment account.
Winners are contacted June 2-3 for payment details. Payment is processed within 5 business days of winner announcement.
Q: Do I give up any equity?
A: Zero. No equity. No IP rights. No license to your code. You own everything you build. StartupTribunal has no claim on your project beyond the right to feature it in the Developer Intelligence Report delivered to sponsors (with your name, link to your repo, and integration highlights).
Q: What if I'm in a country where Flutterwave doesn't pay out?
A: Email [email protected] before registering and we'll confirm if we can accommodate your country. We currently support payouts across most African countries and selected international markets.
MISCELLANEOUS
Q: Is there a Discord or community channel?
A: Yes. Community link available at https://chat.whatsapp.com/ILVtSUAeBEt2SxdI1Puc8X
Q: Can I submit the same project to other hackathons?
A: Sprint #1 does not require exclusivity. You can submit the same project elsewhere. However, the repo must represent work built primarily during May 1–31 — submitting a project you built months ago for a different competition is grounds for disqualification.
Q: Will there be a Sprint #2?
A: Yes. Sprint #1 is the first monthly sprint in an ongoing series. Top 2 founders of Sprint #1 receive free entry to Sprint #2.Sprint #2 opens June 1st. Sprint #2 pricing will reflect a price increase based on the proven value of Sprint #1 reports.
Q: I have a question not answered here.
A: Email [email protected] or DM @startuptribunal on Twitter/X. We respond within 24 hours.
Sprint Competition Rules
Please read these rules carefully before entering a sprint. By submitting a project, you agree to abide by all rules outlined below.
1. Eligibility Criteria
To participate in a StartupTribunal sprint, you must meet the following requirements:
You must have a registered StartupTribunal account with a completed hacker profile.
You must be at least 18 years of age or the age of majority in your jurisdiction.
You may submit only one project per sprint campaign.
Team submissions are permitted, but only one team member should submit the project. All team members must have individual hacker profiles.
Employees and contractors of StartupTribunal and Genesis Protocol are not eligible to participate.
📋 View Full Rules & Judging Criteria