BOLT Hackathons
Launch your idea with BOLT during one of our hackathons
- BOLT Hackathons
Each hackathon has a unique theme, industry specialist mentors, judges and prizes. Each physical event takes place over the course of 54 hours while each virtual event can last up to four days. In specific circumstances, some of our events will include a hybrid solution whereby certain participants, mentors or even judges can virtually attend the events.
Join a network with thousands of other entrepreneurs, innovators, designers and developers from around the globe. Start your journey with BOLT — it’s time to find your inner superhero.
- The Perks

Meet like-minded people as well as thought leaders in their fields. As a participant, you will interact with idea makers, developers and designers all interested in the same things as you.

Attend workshops offered by passionate mentors in the ecosystem. Courses from business modelling to pitching are offered for free at the event.

Work in your teams and learn the basics of rapid prototyping. Some of you will research, some will draw and others will put the presentation together. But you will all prototype!

Every team will go away with free perks from our tech, venue, food and general sponsors. The top 3 spots will be awarded special prizes at the event. Each event has different prizes offered by different sponsors.
Physical Events
GCC-based events with physical presence of mentors and judges to help you design and launch your idea with a group of other innovators in just 54 hours.
Based on our capacity for physical events, the maximum number of participants is 120 while the minimum is 40 for any and all competitions.
Depending on the space sponsor for the event, the location will differ on a competition to competition basis.
Team as a service will be a group of volunteers dedicated to this event. They will include the following members: Lead Organizer, IT Guru, Mentor Lead, Partner lead, Marketing Lead, Design Lead.
The mentors will be selected from the startup ecosystem as well as from the relevant industry depending on the theme. The ratio of mentors to teams will be 1 mentor to 4 startups.
The judges will include some members from the sponsor list as well as individuals from the startup ecosystem. The number of judges will be 5 at maximum and 3 at minimum.
The demo day will take place on the last day in the presence of the selected 3-5 judges. Each participant will receive 5 minutes to pitch (with a presentation or physical prototype) and 3 minutes for Q&A.
Every event we search for several sponsors to offer either technology solutions, access to funding or otherwise free co-working space.
Virtual Events
Global events including virtual interactions with leading global experts and mentors to help you design and launch your idea online all in just 4 days.
Based on our capacity for virtual events, the recommended maximum number of participants is 400, but this number can range up to 900. The minimum number of participants is 40 for any competition.
The events will take place over Zoom and include dedicated software such as Slack, Hopin, or Steamyard.
Team as a service will be a group of volunteers dedicated to this event. They will include the following members: Lead Organizer, IT Guru, Mentor Lead, Partner lead, Marketing Lead, Design Lead.
The mentors will be selected from the startup ecosystem as well as from the relevant industry depending on the theme. The ratio of mentors to teams will be 1 mentor to 10 startups.
The judges will include some members from the sponsor list as well as individuals from the startup ecosystem. The number of judges will be 10 at maximum and 3 at minimum.
The demo day will take place on Zoom on the last day in the presence of the selected judges. Each participant will receive 5 minutes to pitch and will need to submit a video [mp4] to the organizing team. The judges will select the top 20 teams and decide on the winners of the competition.
Each judge will present one winning team and then the organizing team will livestream their video.
For every event, we collaborate with multiple sponsors to offer either technology solutions, access to funding or even free co-working space.