The Canal Startup Sprint Hackathon is a 17-day hybrid startup-building experience designed to help students, developers, designers, and aspiring entrepreneurs transform innovative ideas into real startups. Unlike traditional hackathons that focus only on coding, this program guides participants through the complete startup journey—from validating an idea to building a functional MVP and pitching it to industry experts on Demo Day.
Participants will work onsite with mentors through intensive daily sessions covering: - Market Research - MVP Development - AI Integration - UI/UX - Product Strategy - Pitch Training - Demo Preparation
Teams will present their startups before a judging panel consisting of entrepreneurs, engineers, and ecosystem leaders.
No startup or MVP is required before joining. An idea is enough. Teams must consist of 2–6 members.
Participants will receive practical mentorship on: - Startup Validation - Business Model Canvas - Customer Discovery - MVP Development - Product Design - AI Development - Pitching & Presentation
Accepted teams will receive guidance to activate: - GitHub Student Developer Pack - Microsoft Azure for Students - Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - GitHub Copilot - Microsoft AI services
Our mentors will help teams maximize these resources throughout the hackathon.
A total prize pool of 40,000 EGP will be awarded to the top-performing teams. The event focuses on helping founders continue building their startups beyond the competition. Special gifts are also provided for first, second, and third-place winners.
Judges will evaluate projects based on: - Innovation - Technical Implementation - Business Potential - User Experience - Presentation Quality
Specific criteria include ensuring the business plan and marketing plan are in place, the project has profit potential, and the use of Microsoft technology.