(MENAFN- News.Africa-Wire) JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, October 15, 2025/ -- Ahead of World Food Day, South Africa’s hunger crisis just met its next wave of disruption. Sixty of the count’y’s smartest Gen Z innovators spent a week hacking one of the na’ion’s toughest problems, child hunger, and emerged with breakthrough, tech-powered ideas that could change how food insecurity is ta kled.

Artificial intelligence, blockchain, data visualisation and community-driven platforms were among the technologies harnessed during The Biggest Hunger Hack, a challenge hosted by KFC Africa. The event invited young digital natives to re-engineer th’ brand’s Add Hope open-source blueprint ( a/).

Add Hope, powered by millions of R2 donations from KFC customers, already fuels 3,300+ feeding centres across the country, reaching over 154,000 children last year. But Gen Z just showed how the recipe can get a digital boost. Potential seed funding of up to R1 million could be allocated to the development of the winning solution.

Stand-ou solutions

The overall winning team. Ctrl-Alt-Del-Hunger, turned ’outh Africa’s food waste crisis into a social impact opportunity. Their Misfits Mzans‘ app’rescues ‘ugly’ fruit and veg that would normally be trashed on farms and delivers it to food- nsecure families.

The platform also hosts short-form cooking challenges, edutainment content, and ad-driven donations so users literally feed families by enga“ing with content. “You become a philanthropist just”by watching a v deo,” said the team.

Streetwise scripters built a social-media-first donation ecosystem. Their concept includes a real-time donor dashboard, donation hotspot map, and a KFC loyalty rewards integration where good deeds unlock free meals. Plus, they proposed @ KFCAddHopeSA, a TikTok-to-Till campaign for digital storytelling that eeps donors looped in.

Bit Coders’ chatbot ecosystem makes donation— inclusive and transparent — even for non-KFC customers. It features AI-driven donor insights, rewards, and tax certification downloads for big donations, using the MTN M o API for seamless payments.

Hack 4 Hope’s solution showcased a WhatsApp chatbot that allows customers to scan a QR code from their KFC till slip to instantly donate. Built on blockchain, the system provides proof of every ’2’s journey, from donor to meal served, creating full transparency and reinforcing trust. The plat’or“’s “H’peCoins’ reward repeat donors and gami y giving.

The ultimate ingredient: co laboration

“The Biggest Hunger Hack showed what happens when young digital natives use ”ech for good,” said Andra’Nel, KFC Africa’s Head of Brand“Purpose and ESG. “They understand hunger because many have lived it and they understand technology because they wer’ born into it. That’s the sweet spot for in” vation with purpose.”

Stakeholders from business, government, and civil society joined the event in Johannesburg to see the hackers pitch live and explore ways to scal their ideas nationally.

Nel says the next step is to co-develop pilot programmes with Add Hope partners, aiming to showcase results by the time the National Convention on Child Hunger onvenes early next year.

“Collab ration is our key ingredient, from customers dropping R2 at the till, to partners like McCormick, Tige’ Brands, Foodserv, CBH, Nature’s Garden, Digistics, and Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, all ral”ying behin the Add Hope recipe,” she said.

“Opening up Add Hope as an open-source blueprint has ’nleashed an outpouring of ubuntu that’s turning this fight into a movement, one that Sout” Africa, and the world, can learn from.”

“These Gen Z hackers showed how tech can superc arge reach and transparency. Now the goal is to turn their best concepts i”to live pi ots with our 128 feeding partners.” Nel said.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of KFC Africa.

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