Join on your own
We build the team for you - every team gets a mix of design, engineering and product. You'll meet them the week before, not on the morning.
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Application Process
Apply
Apply as an individual or as part of a team
Pay Your Entry Fee
R500 per person, paid on the spot by card
Secure Your Spot
Your place is confirmed the moment your payment reflects
Get Ready to Build
Final teams and event details will be confirmed before the hackathon
Application Process
Apply
Apply as an individual or as part of a team
Pay Your Entry Fee
R500 per person, paid on the spot by card
Secure Your Spot
Your place is confirmed the moment your payment reflects
Get Ready to Build
Final teams and event details will be confirmed before the hackathon
No one gets the challenge in advance. It will sit at the intersection of AI and digital product. Think software, not hardware.
At 9am on Friday, the brief will be revealed live to every team at the same time. From there, you'll have until 11:59 on Saturday to turn it into something you can demo. There's nothing to prepare and no idea to bring with you. Just arrive ready to understand the problem, find your angle and start building.
100
Participants
16–20
Teams
3-5
Members per team
05
Finalist teams
01
Winning team
R50K
Winner takes all
How the Hackathon Works
Everyone starts
from zero
No pre-built project work. Bring your own tools, tech stack and general component libraries, but nothing created specifically for the challenge. Repositories will be reviewed at submission.
Everyone starts
from zero
from zero
No pre-built project work. Bring your own tools, tech stack and general component libraries, but nothing created specifically for the challenge. Repositories will be reviewed at submission.
Build a working
prototype
prototype
Web, mobile or agent. The format is your call. What matters is that it works. You’ll need to demo a functioning prototype to the judges, not present an idea in a deck.
Pitch it in
five minutes
five minutes
Show us the problem you chose to solve, who you’re solving it for, why your approach works and where you’d take it next.
01. Everyone Starts From Zero
02. Build A Working Prototype
03. Pitch It In Five Minutes
Our judges
Builders Table judging panel
2026
Meet the
Judges
Fred Roed
Founder & CEO | Heavy Chef
Fred Roed is the founder and CEO of Heavy Chef, a learning platform for entrepreneurs. The name 'Heavy Chef' comes from the saying never trust a skinny chef, and aims to share practical learnings from Africa's leading technologists, leaders and creatives. Fred co-founded the Heavy Chef Foundation, which provides learning programmes for high-potential emerging entrepreneurs. Fred is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, investor and father. Fred believes that entrepreneurs can change the world for the better. Fred is also pretty sure he saw Elvis once, at the Pick n' Pay in Tableview.
Daniel Courtenay
VP of Product | Canal+
Daniel Courtenay is VP of Product at Canal+, where he leads DStv's product and streaming experience across one of Africa's largest entertainment platforms. His career has moved from digital advertising and programmatic media into product, data and streaming. He started at Mxit, later led MaxAxion and AdJoin Media, before joining MultiChoice and eventually taking the lead on DStv Stream. Today, his focus is on how technology, data and AI can make a huge catalogue of entertainment feel personal. He has helped lead DStv Stream's evolution around content discovery, recommendation and personalisation, with a belief that the future of streaming is not simply about having more to watch, but getting people to the right thing faster.
Dean Broadley
Director of Design | Yoco
Dean Broadley has spent eighteen years building the organisations behind the products, not just the products themselves. As Director of Design at Yoco, he leads across product, industrial, service, brand and marketing design. Former Global President of IxDA and founder of Designing Humans, he's known for one thing: translating excellent design into commercial outcomes at all scales.
Phumi Körber
Founder & CEO | Kloset Klub
Phumi Körber is the founder and CEO of Kloset Klub, a South African fashion-tech company. Before becoming a founder, she built her career in retail and e-commerce at TFG.
Her perspective is shaped by years of building for real consumer behaviour in South Africa, where adoption, trust and commercial viability matter just as much as the technology itself. She is particularly focused on how African businesses can use AI to operate leaner, scale faster and compete more effectively without needing the resources of much larger companies.
When she's not building businesses, she's usually chasing a good music festival somewhere in the world.
Grant Campbell
Creative Technology Director | MakeReign
Grant Campbell started his career in 2008 as a 3D designer at Hellocomputer, then left advertising to build Okalpha, a motion and animation studio whose work has run for Coca-Cola, adidas, Toyota and Luno. He now leads creative technology at MakeReign, where Okalpha also sits, defining how the agency adopts new tooling and AI. His view is that as the tools get faster, fidelity and human ideation matter more, not less. He works from the Netherlands, and is a compulsive tinkerer — lately with a handheld scanner, collecting the surfaces of Amsterdam.
Howie Kahn
Brand Director | Sealand
Howie Kahn spent the first part of his career in sports media and communications, including Western Province Rugby, before moving into sports marketing at adidas. Since 2023 he has been Brand Director at Sealand, the Cape Town B Corp making bags and apparel from waste material, where he runs brand relationships and partnerships — most recently a collection with Kaizer Chiefs lined with 88 metres of retired stadium banners. He argues a partnership should be a meeting of two institutions, not a logo swap. He is colour-blind, and admits his golf and his fitness are both works in progress.
Judging criteria
What we want to see
2026
What the judges
are looking for
The judges aren't looking for the most polished idea on paper. They're looking for a real problem, a working solution and clear thinking behind how it's been built.
-
Does it work?
A rough thing that runs beats a beautiful thing that doesn't.
-
Is the problem real?
Evidence that someone actually has this problem, not a hypothetical.
-
How does it look?
Interface, interaction, engineering. This is a room full of people who can tell.
-
How is it presented?
Five minutes to make a room of practitioners believe it. Clarity beats polish.
How you can join
Teams and individuals
2026
Join as a team
or as an indivdual.
Bring your team
Three to five people. One person registers and gets a code for the rest. Everyone pays their own pass.
Hackathon schedule
What will happen on the day
2026
A 24-hour build sprint
across two days
Friday, 18 September
Setting the stage and diving into the core problem.
- 08:00Registration & Check-in
- 08:45Welcome & Opening
- 09:00Challenge Brief
- 10:00Build Sprint 1
- 12:00Lunch
- 12:30Build Sprint 2
- 15:00Break
- 15:15Build Sprint 3
- 16:45Day 1 Checkpoint & Submission
- 17:00Networking & Dinner
- 18:00Evening Build Sprint (optional)
Saturday, 19 September
Final sprints and presenting to the builder community.
- 08:30Doors Open
- 09:00Welcome Back & Final Brief
- 09:30Build Sprint 4
- 11:30Submission Window (closes 11:59)
- 12:00Lunch
- 13:00Hackathon finalist presentations and awards
- 16:30Cocktail Hour
- 18:00Afterparty
The grand prize
What you can win
2026
R50,000 cash.
No strings .
- One winning team
R50,000 cash, split as you like. Sponsor tool credits. A working session with the MakeReign founders.
- Five finalists
Sponsor tool credits and the founders' session. Your pitch filmed and cut for you to use.
- All Twenty Teams
All approved applicants receive full IP, all talks and workshops, all meals, and the party.
The honest truth
Why you should join
2026
19 of 20 teams won't win.
Here's why they still join
A prototype you
own outright
Whatever you build, you keep. Full IP, no conditions, no licence back to us or our sponsors. We'll ask before we show it to anyone.
Mentors on the floor,
not on a stage
The people from DeepMind, Takealot, Yoco and Framer are in the room while you build, not just in front of it.
A weekend inside a
curated room
100 people, selected for range. This is the part you can't buy — and the reason most people are actually here.
Proof you can ship
under pressure
Filmed throughout. You leave with footage of your team pitching, and something real for the portfolio.
Get your pass today
Join Builders Table
2026
Get your
pass today
You want to join the hackathon. Join as a team of up to five, or come alone and we'll place you.
R500/ person
- 24-hour build, judged live on Saturday
- Shot at the R50,000 - no strings, you keep your IP
- Every talk, fireside and workshop - the whole Attendee Pass, included
- Snacks and coffee - Pizza Shed and Zuney Wagyu Burgers on site
- The 10-year MakeReign party on Saturday night
Faqs
QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
2026
get answers to
your questions
The event culminates in a live finalist showcase, awards ceremony and closing celebration, bringing together participants, sponsors and guests to recognise the strongest ideas and outcomes from the event.
[01]
What is Builders Table?
Builders Table is a curated hackathon that brings together designers, developers, strategists, founders and creative technologists to solve real-world challenges, collaborate with like-minded people and build innovative solutions.
[02]
When is Builders Table taking place?
Builders Table takes place on 18–19 September 2026. Applications stay open until the room is full.
[03]
Where will the event take place?
Parkview, Woodstock, Cape Town. We'll provide all the information you need, including directions, parking details and arrival times.
[04]
Who can apply?
Anyone aged 18 years or older is welcome to apply. We encourage applications from designers, developers, strategists, founders and creative technologists.
[05]
What does it cost?
It's free to apply. If your application is successful, you pay a participation fee of R500 per person. Teams pay for the whole team in a single card payment.
[06]
What is the prize?
One prize of R50,000, awarded to the winning team — there is no second or third cash prize. All five finalist teams receive sponsor tool credits and a working session with the MakeReign founders.
[07]
How are projects judged?
An appointed judging panel evaluates every project on three things: the quality of the thinking, the quality of the execution, and the potential impact of the idea. Full judging criteria are shared with all confirmed participants before the event.
[08]
Who owns what we build?
You do. Teams retain full ownership of everything they create at Builders Table. We'll always ask your permission before showcasing a project publicly.
[09]
Do I need previous hackathon experience?
No. Whether it's your first hackathon or you're an experienced participant, Builders Table is designed to be an inclusive environment where people can learn, collaborate and build together.
[10]
Can I apply on my own?
Yes. Individual applications are welcome.