Data Science Nigeria
Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp 2026
Countdown to Bootcamp Week
The 2026 AI Bootcamp
THEME: A Decade of Impact. A Future of Possibilities.
It is here again!
The Data Science Nigeria AI Bootcamp - a gathering of the best of the best, taught and mentored by world-class experts! You cannot afford to miss this immersion of world-class learning, best-practice knowledge, and cutting-edge mentoring.
The AI Bootcamp 2026 will hold hybrid between October 19 and 23, 2026, and will accept professionals, researchers, and the 300 best candidates from the qualifying hackathon.
Overview
The Data Science Nigeria Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp is an all-expenses-paid learning experience that builds Africa's capacity in advanced machine learning and deep learning, and drives the application of AI for socio-economic development.
The bootcamp advances a broader strategic intent: to accelerate Africa's development by applying machine learning to solve social and business problems, and to spark a data science knowledge revolution that improves employability, drives technological innovation, and sustains socio-economic growth. It reinforces DSN's vision to train one million talents over the next ten years through world-class knowledge and best-practice application.
Roadmap
The road to the 2026 bootcamp
Six phases carry the 2026 cohort from the first free class to bootcamp week.
DSN Free AI Classes 2026
5th May to 10th Aug
Free AI Classes: Hackathons & Projects
5th May to 10th Aug
Call for Bootcamp Application / Qualification Hackathon
31st Aug to 25th Sept
Validation Quiz and Assessment
7th Sept to 2nd Oct
Publication of the 300 Finalists
2nd to 5th Oct
Bootcamp Week
19th to 23rd Oct
DSN Free AI Classes 2026
5th May to 10th Aug
Free AI Classes: Hackathons & Projects
5th May to 10th Aug
Call for Bootcamp Application / Qualification Hackathon
31st Aug to 25th Sept
Validation Quiz and Assessment
7th Sept to 2nd Oct
Publication of the 300 Finalists
2nd to 5th Oct
Bootcamp Week
19th to 23rd Oct
Through the Years
Every bootcamp since 2017
From our first bootcamp to last year's edition, a look back at the years that built up to 2026.
Qualification Tracks
Five ways in
Rank on the leaderboard to qualify. Note that ranking alone does not guarantee selection, other criteria are also considered.
Machine Learning Track
Predict product-store sales for DSN Mart, a retail chain, using historical sales records.
DSN Mart operates a chain of stores across Nigeria, from small corner shops to flagship hypermarkets, spread across major urban centers, state capitals, and smaller towns. Like any growing retail business, DSN Mart wants to understand what drives sales at the product level across its different store formats and locations, so it can plan stock, pricing, and store investment more intelligently.
You’ve been given a snapshot of historical product-store sales records and asked to build a model that predicts total sales for a given product at a given store, based on what’s known about the product and the outlet it’s sold in.
This challenge is being used as the qualifying hackathon for the DSN AI Bootcamp. Your rank on the leaderboard is one of the inputs used to select participants for the bootcamp.
Data Analytics Track
Project challenge: Audit the Dashboard.
You have joined a retail business as a Data Analyst. Management has already received a dashboard and a set of conclusions based on the supplied dataset. Your task is to independently review the data, determine what can and cannot be trusted, correct the analysis, and produce a more reliable dashboard and set of business conclusions.
What you are expected to do:
Review the supplied raw dataset and the existing management dashboard.
Identify data-quality issues that could affect the reliability of the analysis.
Clean and validate the data using appropriate analytical judgement.
Audit the management claims and determine whether each is correct, incorrect, misleading, or cannot be determined.
Build a corrected dashboard using either Power BI or Excel.
Compare the original dashboard with your corrected dashboard and answer the final analysis questions.
Submit a snapshot of your corrected dashboard together with your completed Answer & Submission Sheet.
Geospatial Track
Theme: Mapping Pathways for Health, Environment & Climate Change.
Create an original GIS map that explores a real-world issue related to health, environment, or climate change using freely available datasets.
Requirements:
Use open datasets such as OpenStreetMap, Google Earth Engine, or national open-data portals.
Any GIS tool may be used.
The map must be your original work.
Large Language Model Track
Project title: Multilingual Topic Generation for Nigerian Languages (Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin).
Goal: Build and evaluate LLM-based approaches for generating topic labels from news text in low-resource Nigerian languages, comparing classical baselines, zero/few-shot prompting, and fine-tuning, and publish the result as a Kaggle notebook.
One-line pitch: Most topic classification/generation work is English-only. This project benchmarks how well modern LLMs handle topic generation in four major Nigerian languages, and shows how much fine-tuning closes the gap.
Poster Track
Submit an abstract for a completed AI/ML project that solves a real problem in your community.
Identify the problem. Showcase your AI/ML solution. Demonstrate the impact.
The project must be completed before the abstract is submitted.
Bootcamp Schedule
What to expect on-site
The full timetable releases October 14, 2026. Here is the shape of the week.
Awards and Opportunities
What's on the line
- Internships from top companies
- Scholarships
- Mr. and Miss Algorithm, Community Value Award
- Best Poster Award
- Pascal Dozie AI School of the Year Award
- Industry Recognition Award
- AI City of the Year Award
Call for Participants
Register
Submit the Data Science Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp 2026 form below to be considered for a qualification track.
Partners
Testimonials
From previous attendees
“It all started from the DSN AI Bootcamp, where I learned that I should not stop until I am proud. That message stayed with me and shaped my journey. DSN became the place where I found mentorship, community and real opportunities to grow. Leading DSN OAU taught me teamwork, responsibility and the joy of helping others rise. Seeing fifteen members of our community accepted into Indaba reminded me of the strength of DSN. We learned together and made sure no one was left behind. I am grateful for the growth and proud to be part of DSN at ten years.”
“The Lagos Bootcamp gave me hands-on exposure to AI concepts I couldn’t find elsewhere. I moved from being a curious beginner to someone who actually understood how to build. Those skills helped me become an AI (eHealth, SmartAgric, Recommender System, Cybersecurity, etc.) and blockchain developer. I now build real systems and collaborate on research that matters.”
“Being part of Data Science Nigeria’s maiden AI Bootcamp marked a turning point for me; the light at the end of the tunnel. Through the DSN community, I landed my first job and joined their first organized mentorship program, both of which have been major catalysts in my career and remain an unending well of opportunities and growth. God bless Data Science Nigeria, and God bless Dr. Bayo’s family and team.”