iLabAfrica- Strathmore University and Transparency International Kenya spotlight data-driven tools to promote transparency and accountability in politics at the 2026 Campaign Finance Watch Hackathon
iLabAfrica, in partnership with Transparency International Kenya, successfully hosted the Campaign Finance Watch Tool Hackathon 2026, bringing together some of Kenya’s brightest young innovators to develop a civic technology platform designed to track political financing, visualise campaign spending, and monitor the misuse of public resources during election campaigns.
Held at Strathmore University, the hackathon convened students, developers, and civic tech enthusiasts to tackle one of Kenya’s most pressing governance challenges: opaque, unregulated campaign financing.
The event comes amid growing concern over the influence of opaque political financing in Kenya’s elections and ahead of preparations for the 2027 General Elections.
Over the course of the hackathon, multidisciplinary teams of developers, designers and data specialists worked intensively to design prototypes that enhance public access to political finance data and enable citizens, journalists and watchdog organisations to better monitor money in politics.
“Transparent political financing is a cornerstone of democratic governance. Initiatives like this hackathon help harness the creativity and technical expertise of young innovators to build tools that empower citizens, journalists and oversight institutions to follow the money in politics.”
— Sheila Masinde, Executive Director, Transparency International Kenya
The event featured insights and support from key stakeholders, including representatives from the Electoral Law and Governance Institute for Africa and the British High Commission. Speakers emphasized the urgent need to move beyond policy frameworks toward practical, tech-enabled
solutions that can address hidden and complex financial flows in politics.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Joseph Sevilla- Director @iLabAfrica Strathmore University commended the participants for their ingenuity and reaffirmed the importance of partnerships in driving sustainable impact.
“This hackathon has demonstrated the immense potential of technology and young innovators in shaping a more transparent and accountable democratic process. Our partnership with Transparency International Kenya continues to be instrumental in bridging innovation with real-world impact.”
After a highly competitive process, three outstanding teams were recognised for their innovative and practical solutions:
Technicians (Winners) – Ksh 500,000
The winning team developed FedhaWatch Kenya, A real-time civic tech platform combining citizen reporting with data dashboards to expose suspicious campaign spending and visualize financial irregularities.
Kweli Networks (1st Runner-Up) – Ksh 300,000
Kweli Networks introduced the Reality Check Engine, an Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)-powered tool that analyses social media to estimate actual campaign spending and flag discrepancies against declared budgets.
Kovela (2nd Runner-Up) – Ksh 100,000
Kovela addressed a critical data gap by developing a solution that extracts and structures political finance data from fragmented sources such as PDFs, gazettes, and court documents. A data pipeline that transforms fragmented political finance records into a searchable, intelligent system for detecting anomalies and improving access to information.
Beyond the Hackathon
Organizers emphasized that the hackathon marks the beginning—not the end—of the innovation journey. Selected teams will proceed to the mentorship and incubation phases to refine and scale their solutions for real-world application.
“We are moving beyond frameworks into real, implementable solutions. The ideas developed here have the potential to transform how campaign financing is monitored and understood” — Gibson Mwaita, Head of Programs, Transparency International Kenya
The initiative also reinforces a broader commitment to strengthening democratic governance through technology, particularly as Kenya continues to navigate an evolving electoral landscape.
The success of the hackathon underscores the importance of cross-sector collaboration. Through its partnership with Transparency International Kenya, iLabAfrica continues to provide a platform for innovation that directly addresses governance and accountability challenges.
As the solutions developed during the hackathon move toward implementation, stakeholders remain optimistic about the role of civic technology in promoting transparency, empowering citizens, and strengthening democratic institutions in Kenya.
“If we can harness these brilliant ideas and scale them, we can begin to close the gap between declared and actual campaign spending” Linda Eunice Oloo – Anti-Corruption Advisor at the British High Commission Nairobi
Organizers emphasized the importance of collaboration between civic organizations, academic institutions, and young innovators in addressing complex governance challenges.
About the Initiative
The Campaign Finance Watch Tool Hackathon is part of ongoing efforts by iLabAfrica- Strathmore University and Transparency International Kenya to leverage technology in strengthening democratic processes, promoting accountability, and empowering citizens. The hackathon forms part of broader efforts under the Kenya Institutional Strengthening Program (KISP) to improve accountability in political financing and counter the use of illicit funds in electoral processes.
For media inquiries, please contact:
iLabAfrica, Strathmore University
📧 ilabhackathons@strathmore.edu
Transparency International Kenya
jwangari@tikenya.org
