DevCareer and Nomba Launch Nigeria’s Premier Payments Hackathon: The Ultimate Developer Opportunity

June 17, 2026
Lawrence Blessing
Tech, digital economy, Economy, Events, Science

DevCareer, Africa’s developer talent community, has launched the Nomba x DevCareer Hackathon 2026, a five-week contest from June 8 to July 18, 2026, seeking Nigerian developer teams to create genuine, operational payment solutions using Nomba’s API stack.

This is not your normal hackathon. Every developer that ships a working integration and passes the judging process is a direct candidate for the Nomba Developer Partner Program, a formal avenue that allows builders to earn on the transaction volume they refer. The hackathon serves as a recruitment screening. The subsequent business partnership is referred to as the partner programme.

Unlike traditional coding competitions, which frequently end with certificates and temporary recognition, this innovative fintech hackathon is poised to be a career-changing opportunity for developers to translate their technical skills into practical products, business opportunities, and long-term partnerships within Nigeria’s growing digital payment ecosystem.

The five-week entirely virtual hackathon focuses on developing production-ready payment infrastructure utilising the Nomba API stack, providing participants with real-world financial technology tools, technical resources, and industry experience.

The development of digital banking and payment solutions has resulted in an urgent need for developers who can establish safe, scalable, and dependable financial systems. This is precisely the gap that DevCareer and Nomba hope to bridge through this strategic alliance.

Participants will collaborate on solutions for payment acceptance, recurring transactions, virtual accounts, webhooks, financial automation, and other crucial areas influencing the future of digital commerce.

According to Jafer Ali Shariff, Head of Product at Nomba

Nigerian developers are building the next generation of payment infrastructure, and we want them building on Nomba.

This hackathon is how we find the builders who understand what the market actually needs and bring them into a commercial relationship, not just a competition.

The best submissions won’t just win a prize; they’ll shape what we build next.

Jafer Ali Shariff

All About DevCareer And Nomba

DevCareer’s Role in Creating Africa’s Next Generation of Developers. DevCareer has emerged as a dominant force in African developer education and talent development. The company focuses on assisting new and experienced developers in gaining practical skills, mentorship, and access to technology possibilities.

DevCareer, has over 42,000 members across Africa, continues to establish pathways that integrate study, employment, and innovation.

While Nomba is a Nigerian payment infrastructure provider that offers businesses checkout APIs, virtual accounts, webhooks, transfers, and tokenised card flows. Nomba’s developer-facing stack is tailored to Nigerian market conditions and is actively used in consumer, corporate, and platform contexts.

Nomba offers developer-focused solutions to help organisations with payment acceptance, checkout systems, virtual accounts, transfers, and integration resources.

The Significant Opportunity Behind Nigeria’s Payment Infrastructure Revolution

The Nigerian fintech industry has expanded rapidly as businesses need faster, safer, and smarter ways to transfer money.

DevCareer and Nomba Launch Nigeria’s Premier Payments Hackathon The Ultimate Developer Opportunity

Every successful digital business relies on a strong payment infrastructure system.

The ability to execute transactions, verify customers, manage subscriptions, reconcile payments, and communicate securely using APIs has become a significant competitive advantage.

This hackathon encourages developers to design solutions that go beyond basic applications and address fundamental infrastructure issues affecting Nigerian businesses. The purpose is to promote developers who can tackle complicated financial technology challenges and contribute to Africa’s digital economy.

Who Can Participate In The Hackathon?

The hackathon welcomes a diverse group of technology professionals:

Registration is open for:

Frontend and Backend Engineers
Full Stack Developers
Product Designers
Product managers

Participants can either join independently and network with other builders or join an established team. Teams of two to four people are encouraged because developing successful financial solutions necessitates teamwork between technical and creative expertise.

This workshop is intended to teach developers about professional payment engineering methods, secure API implementation, production standards, and real-world finance operations.

The certification process is based on practical knowledge, such as payment security foundations and API integration skills. This elevates the hackathon beyond a competition. It becomes a systematic learning experience in which developers acquire skills that will immediately benefit their professions.

The Prize Pool And Reward For Innovation

The Nomba x DevCareer Hackathon has a total prize pool of $6,500, making it one of Nigeria’s top developer-focused fintech events.

Prize structure

First Prize: USD 4,000.
Second Prize: USD 1,500.
Third Prize: USD 1,000.

Certificates will be provided to all participants who complete the onboarding training phase and ship a functional product integration. Certification is required for the Nomba Developer Partner Program.

However, the cash incentive is simply one aspect of this opportunity. Participants who finish the requisite training and successfully construct functioning solutions are also recognised and may be eligible for the Nomba Developer Partner Program. For many engineers, the long-term professional rewards could outweigh the prize money.

Timeline And Important Dates

The hackathon officially began on June 8, 2026, with registration and applications open until June 23, 2026.

Program Timeline

June 8th–June 23rd: Registration Window
June 24th – June 29th: Official Onboarding and AMAs.
July 1st–July 7th: The Build and Submission Phase
July 8th – July 14th: Judging and Submission Review.
Demo Day and Awards: July 18, 2026 (Fully Virtual).

Favour Chibueze, the Community & Partnership Lead at DevCareer, explained:

Creating real payment products goes beyond writing code. It requires collaboration between engineers, designers, and product thinkers the kind of well-rounded talent DevCareer has been developing across its community.

With over 42,000 members across Africa, we have focused on preparing people to build for real production environments.

This hackathon gives them a clear pathway to move from learning into building systems that ship and scale in the real world, creating value while giving them a platform to grow their careers.

Favour Chibueze

Conclusion

The Nomba x DevCareer Hackathon 2026 is more than just a coding contest. It serves as a springboard for ambitious developers looking to create relevant fintech solutions, receive industry exposure, compete for financial prizes, and potentially join a professional developer partnership ecosystem.

By combining developer education, real-world payment infrastructure, mentorship, and commercial prospects, the programme bridges the gap between talent and opportunity. As Nigeria continues its digital transformation path, projects like this will play an important role in empowering indigenous innovators to shape the future of African technology.

The next great fintech innovation might not come from a global technology business. It could be the work of a Nigerian developer participating in the hackathon.

For more information visit DevCareer and Nomba hackathon website

Applications close on June 23, 2026.

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Lawrence Blessing

Olarewaju Lawrence is a versatile content writer known for his creative approach and attention to detail. With a background in the Chemical aspect of Engineering and visual arts, Lawrence has worked on diverse projects ranging from Charcoal drawing, contents creation to website layouts with years of experience. His ability to understand trending occurrences and translate them into powerful striking contents visually sets him apart.
Lawrence finds inspiration in nature, music, football and arts.