Designers, Developers Win in Competition

Figma and GitHub teamed up with MEST and Ingressive to present one of the first hackathons that featured both designers and developers as part of the tech team.

Over 90 developers and designers competed in the Lagos and Accra hackathons.

The first event took place in Lagos recently and the second hack took place in Accra.

Figma X Github Hackathons targeted developers and designers building products that solve social, economic or environmental problems and positively impact the local community, while awarding them with cash prizes.

$2,000 was granted to winners in Lagos and Accra.

The Hackathons focused on bringing awareness to the design industry, an overall initiative of Figma across Africa, working with Github and Ingressive to push technical skills training and resources across the continent.

As technology continued to eat the world and the barrier to developing tech decreases, it is design that truly differentiates a product.

Design includes everything from how the product works to the experience using the product to what it looks like: the buttons, the colors, the themes. The importance of design is booming globally, and more and more highpaying jobs are being created in the space. There’s currently a shortage of qualified designers to fill them.

Figma is looking to build a Global Community connecting high potential designers and those interested in the space who could fill these roles.

According to the organisers, its core, design is about problem solving. Good designers can come from anywhere, given the right skills and training. Designers can come from any background: back-end or front-end engineers as much as former makeup artists and drawers. Anyone interested can get involved with Figma Africa group in Lagos and around the continent to meet other designers and get started, the organisers said.