Cybersecurity Awareness Month miniCTF

October 1-15, 2025

12:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. ET

Virtual

two women on computers

Are you ready to learn and test your cybersecurity skills and join Africa's growing community of ethical hackers?

picoCTF-Africa miniCTF is a free, beginner-friendly cybersecurity competition designed to introduce students across Africa to the exciting world of computer security. From October 1-15, participants will engage in hands-on challenges covering topics like web exploitation, cryptography, reverse engineering, & binary exploitation, forensics — all through a gamified Capture The Flag (CTF) format.

Registration is open!

Who can participate?

picoCTF-Africa is open to everyone. Participants and teams that do not meet award requirements can still participate, but will not be eligible to win contest prizes. Please see competition rules for details.

Why join?

  • Learn cybersecurity fundamentals through picoPrimer and picoGym
  • Compete on an Africa-only leaderboard
  • Build your skills, earn recognition, and connect with peers across the continent
  • Whether you're new to cybersecurity or looking to sharpen your skills, this miniCTF is your chance to dive in, have fun, and grow.

Award categories

Coming soon!

IMPORTANT: Each winning team must meet the general award recognition criteria and specific award recognition criteria

General award recognition criteria

  • A team of two to three students
  • Each participant must be between the ages of 13-25 years
  • Participants must apply individually and join a team consisting of two to three students
  • Must be an active student from an accredited high school, college, or undergraduate program. Students who are done with coursework will be ineligible.
  • Teams with both female and male participants are highly encouraged, but not required
  • Participants have to be permanent residents and citizens of an African country to be eligible for the award
  • First time hackathon/CTF players or picoCTF Players with less than 3,000 points from the previous competition

Specific category recognition criteria

Coming soon!

Terms and conditions

  • All team members must meet award criteria for the team to be considered as a winner
  • picoCTF-Africa reserves the right to request participants to present any documents that verify the identity and nationality of participants
  • picoCTF-Africa reserves the right to request participants to present a notified letter from the school dean or student ID
  • All registration will be done on the picoCTF platform
  • picoCTF-Africa reserves the right to determine qualification for all award criteria
  • Any misrepresentation or false information provided by a participant will lead to disqualification of the team

Follow the Upanzi Network on LinkedIn for updates :

Registration opens soon! Learn more about the miniCTF by following the Upanzi Network on social media

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