AI for Pakistan’s Future
The Alibaba Cloud AI Hackathon Pakistan 2026, delivered in Pakistan by Bano Qabil Pakistan, Cognix Solutions and Alibaba Cloud. Teams across the country are building working AI products for problems that matter here.
The three regional rounds are complete: Karachi on 3 October, Islamabad on 11 October and Lahore on 17 October. The national final is on Saturday 24 October in Islamabad.
Portal access details are shared separately with each team.
Final round
The national final brings together the teams selected from the three regional rounds.
National final · Islamabad
Saturday 24 Oct 2026
Pakistan-China Friendship CenterGarden Avenue, Shakarparian Road, Islamabad
Open in Maps (opens in a new tab)
Regional events
Teams that submitted a project presented at the regional round for their region.
Karachi Region
Saturday 3 Oct 2026
NASTP KarachiMain Shahrah-e-Faisal, Faisal Cantonment, Karachi
9:00 am – 9:00 pm PKT
Open in Maps
Islamabad Region
Sunday 11 Oct 2026
FAST NUCES IslamabadA. K. Brohi Road, H-11/4, Islamabad
9:00 am – 7:00 pm PKT
Open in Maps
Lahore Region
Saturday 17 Oct 2026
University of Central Punjab1 - Khayaban-e-Jinnah Road, Johar Town, Lahore
9:00 am – 9:00 pm PKT
Open in MapsAlibaba Cloud on the hackathon
Alibaba Cloud’s video from the Karachi regional round at NASTP Karachi, the first of the three regional rounds.
Watch on YouTubeOne Vision: AI for Pakistan’s Future, on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Video · Alibaba Cloud
One Vision: AI for Pakistan’s Future
Part of the Alibaba Cloud Global Hackathon series.
Watch the video on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Also shared by Alibaba Cloud on
What this programme is
The AI Hackathon 2026 is a national competition for young builders in Pakistan. It is not a weekend sprint. Teams are taken through structured training, a mentored build phase and a staged evaluation, so that what comes out at the end is a working product rather than a slide.
Participation is free. The development tools and the guidance are provided, because access has always been the barrier here, not ability.
Built, not pitched
Teams ship something that runs. Judges look at the problem being solved, the use of AI and whether the solution can survive outside a demo.
Guided the whole way
Training before the build, mentors during it, and a consistent evaluation standard applied to every project.
Open to first-time builders
Advanced AI experience is not required. Effort and thinking decide the outcome.
The theme
Every project is expected to point at a real need in the country. The strongest work in this programme tends to come from teams who have lived close to the problem they picked.
Focus areas
Teams register under one focus area and may build across others where it makes sense.
Smart Agriculture
Yield, pest and irrigation support for the sector that employs the largest share of the workforce.
Financial Inclusion
Credit, payments, fraud and voice-first access for people the formal system has not reached.
Urdu & Regional Language Tech
Speech, text and translation work for Urdu, Sindhi, Pashto and Punjabi, which mainstream AI serves poorly.
Healthcare
Triage, imaging support and remote diagnostics for places where specialists are scarce.
Education
Tutoring, assessment and low bandwidth delivery for classrooms under strain.
Open Innovation
Any other AI-powered idea that does not fit neatly in the areas above.
Programme timeline
Submissions closed on 8 September, and the three regional rounds are complete: Karachi presented on 3 October, Islamabad on 11 October and Lahore on 17 October. The national final is on Saturday 24 October at the Pakistan-China Friendship Center, Islamabad.
Anything not yet dated is announced directly to teams.
- Registration8 July to 7 AugustComplete
- Onboarding and trainingMid AugustComplete
- Tools access dispatch24 and 25 AugustComplete. Qoder access sent to eligible teams following acknowledgement, with your current position under the Alibaba Cloud evaluation criteria
- Build phaseTo 12 noon, 8 SeptemberComplete
- Submission portal3 to 8 SeptemberComplete
- Regional technical evaluation3 (KHI), 11 (ISB) and 17 October (LHR)Complete
- Grand finale24 OctoberUpcoming
Dates after the build phase are confirmed by email and on this page as they are set.
What taking part gives you
Technical training
Structured, hands-on preparation before the build, in the Bano Qabil tradition of free practical education.
Mentorship
Guidance from experienced AI practitioners, applied to your project and not to a generic curriculum.
AI development tooling
Qoder, the Alibaba Cloud AI development tool, dispatched to eligible teams at no cost, along with the development resources that go with it.
Recognition that travels
Certification for participants who complete the programme, issued by Bano Qabil, and visibility for the strongest teams in front of industry and international partners.
Hosted under Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan.
Delivered together
Everything for your team is in the portal
Sign in with the email address your team registered with. One account exists per project, and it is held by the team lead.
Submissions closed on 8 Sep 2026. Sign in any time — your event pass, presentation window and result appear in your project area as each is published.
Access details not received? Write to us from your registered address.
Where announcements come from
Your registered email address, and this page. Once you are signed in, announcements also appear on your dashboard, and Queries is where you ask something directly. The hackathon Discord channel carries them too.
Questions
Students, graduates, developers, designers, researchers and early-stage teams from across Pakistan.
Registration for the 2026 edition closed on 7 August. Qualified teams were notified by email; there is no public sign-up.
No. Entry is free and the tooling is provided.
Qoder access was dispatched to eligible teams after acknowledgement. If you expected it and it has not reached you, write to aihackathon@banoqabil.pk from your registered email address and we will check your team's status.
The national final is on Saturday 24 October 2026 at the Pakistan-China Friendship Center, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian Road, Islamabad. The map link is in the "Final round" section of this page.
The three regional rounds were held in Karachi on 3 October, Islamabad on 11 October and Lahore on 17 October.
Your registered email address, and this page. Once you are signed in, announcements also appear on your dashboard, and Queries is the place to ask something directly.