Johannesburg
Innovation League
// The Stripe Projects Build Season · 2026–27
Six months. Real problems. Real products. Real users. Real businesses. A competitive innovation league that turns the one-off hackathon into a season — where institutions bring the problem, and builders bring the future.
You bring the problem
JIL brings the builders
Season 2026–27
North Star
Reignite Johannesburg by building the next generation of African internet and city businesses.
The Flywheel
Successful pilots increase the attractiveness of the network — a recurring pipeline, not a one-off event.
Six months. One question at a time.
Every month asks the league a different question — and demands proof, not promises. Regular-season fixtures build toward playoffs and a live Johannesburg Championship.
Run like a sports league, not a hackathon.
Teams register for a season, play fixtures, earn league points and an innovation score, and climb toward the championship.
The weekly operating rhythm.
Every week of the season follows the same fixture cycle — from challenge drop to matchday to standings.
You bring the problem. JIL brings the builders.
Municipalities, banks, universities, regulators, insurers and utilities submit genuine problems. JIL manages the journey from discovery to challenge, build, validation and potential pilot.
Challenge Partners
Bring a real problem and domain expertise to a dedicated challenge, with experts embedded in judging.
Infrastructure Partners
Provide the technology stack — hosting, credits, APIs, technical support and mentors — that teams build on.
Capital Partners
Provide grants, investment, pilot funding, procurement finance or accelerator pathways for winning teams.
Ecosystem Partners
Open access, research, venues, policy insight, users and networks to strengthen every challenge.
Four ways to back the league.
Built on Stripe Projects.
Every team learns a modern, agent-compatible CLI workflow for provisioning services, credentials and infrastructure — documented as part of their build evidence each month.
Bring a problem.
Or bring your team.
Whether you're an institution with a hard problem or a builder ready for a season-long challenge, the Johannesburg Innovation League has a lane for you.