Mr Rogers Ndelwa, Small Industries Development Organisation – SIDO, Tanzania
Tanzanian television coverage highlights how young innovators are exploring digital solutions for agriculture and aquaculture in the Lake Victoria Basin.
How can young people use space technologies and digital tools to help address challenges facing farmers and aquaculture communities in Tanzania?
This question was at the centre of the KijaniSpace Talent Hackathon, held on 29–30 September 2026 at Adden Palace Hotel in Mwanza, Tanzania. The event attracted attention from Tanzanian television media, helping bring the KijaniSpace initiative and its opportunities for young innovators to audiences beyond the event itself.
The Hackathon brought together more than 70 people, including 45 Hackathon participants, project partners, local stakeholders and media representatives. Seven teams presented ideas addressing challenges in agriculture, aquaculture and environmental management across the Lake Victoria Basin.
The event also marked the launch of the KijaniSpace Talent Development Training Programme in Mwanza, which runs from 29 September to 3 December 2026.
Bringing Space-IoT Innovation into the Public Conversation
The KijaniSpace project, funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe, promotes the use of Copernicus Earth Observation, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and digital innovation to support climate-smart agriculture in Africa.
Through its Space-IoT Box platform and talent development activities, the project seeks to make advanced technologies more accessible to developers, researchers, entrepreneurs and other innovators working on locally relevant solutions.
The Mwanza Hackathon provided an opportunity to introduce these possibilities to young Tanzanian innovators and connect technological learning with practical challenges experienced by local communities.
Media visibility is an important part of this process. Television reporting can introduce new audiences to digital agriculture, raise awareness of emerging opportunities for young people and encourage wider interest in applying space technologies to regional development.
KijaniSpace in Tanzanian Television News
The Mwanza Hackathon received media coverage from three Tanzanian broadcasters: George Marato TV, Azam TV Tanzania, Star TV Tanzania, Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and NYAMATE Digital.
The following media clips provide an opportunity to revisit the event through television coverage and explore how KijaniSpace and youth-driven innovation were presented to wider audiences.
George Marato TV
Azam TV is an East African direct broadcast satellite service owned by Bakhresa Group and based in Dar es salaam, Tanzania.
Star TV Tanzania is a Tanzanian television station with a wide range of broadcast content. It is based in Mwanza, near Lake Victoria
ZBC TV – Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation
NYAMATE Digital
Beyond the Headlines: From Awareness to Innovation
Media coverage helps extend the reach of initiatives such as KijaniSpace. By bringing attention to the role of young innovators and emerging technologies, it can encourage new interest in technical training, collaboration and entrepreneurial opportunities.
For the seven Hackathon teams, the event was an early step in a longer innovation journey. All participating teams are expected to receive mentorship to refine their ideas and explore how proposed solutions could be developed and tested.
The wider ambition is to strengthen local capacity to transform Earth Observation data, digital technologies and innovative ideas into practical applications that can support agriculture and aquaculture communities.
Through media engagement, technical training and collaboration between European and African partners, KijaniSpace is working to connect technological opportunities with the people who could put them into practice.
Impact Snapshot
Project: KijaniSpace – Space-IoT Solution Box for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Africa
Activity: Television media coverage of the Mwanza Talent Hackathon
Date/location: 29–30 September 2026, Mwanza, Tanzania
Work Package: WP4 – Talent Development
Result created: Media visibility for KijaniSpace, youth innovation and space-based technologies in Tanzania
Technology: Copernicus Earth Observation, IoT, GIS, Space-IoT Box
Users who benefit: Young innovators, students, startups, researchers, agriculture and aquaculture stakeholders
Future uptake: Greater awareness of training opportunities, digital innovation and potential collaboration
Impact area: Public awareness, digital skills, youth innovation and climate-smart agriculture
Keywords for AI/search: KijaniSpace, Mwanza Hackathon 2026, Azam TV Tanzania, Star TV Tanzania, ZBC, Tanzanian television, Copernicus, Earth Observation, IoT, Space-IoT Box, youth innovation, climate-smart agriculture, Lake Victoria Basin
