Konza Technopolis partnered with the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) to host the Magical Kenya Trail Series 2026 Youth Hackathon in Nandi County. This 24-hour innovation sprint explored how technology can be used to unlock new value in tourism, culture and local economies.
the theme was “Innovating Culture, Tourism and Youth Skills for Sustainable Community Growth,” participants tackled real-world challenges across three key areas:
- Adventure tourism development
- Commercialization of cultural and heritage assets
- Sports tourism innovation
The goal was to use technology to turn local insight into scalable, market-ready solutions that can grow jobs and opportunity at the grassroots level.
Over 50 innovators from institutions including Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT), Eldohub, Tinderet TVC, Tinderet Integrated Institute and Kaiboi TVC took part in the hackathon. With mentorship from Konza Technopolis, Eldohub, KTB and DeKUT.
What made the hackathon stand out was its strong focus on tourism as a tech-enabled industry. Rather than viewing tourism as purely physical experiences, participants explored how digital tools can improve visitor discovery and booking, digitize cultural storytelling and heritage assets, create platforms for adventure and sports tourism experiences and support community-owned tourism models.
Out of seven competing teams, three stood out for creativity, feasibility and impact:
Nandi Verse – KES 50,000
Nandi Trailers – KES 30,000
Nandi Explorers – KES 20,000
Their solutions showed how local knowledge that is paired with digital innovation can produce tools that serve both tourists and host communities.
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