Registration closes 21:00 Registration is closed
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Until building starts · Thu 17 Sept 2026, 21:00 SAST
Building has started. Go.

Build it on WhatsApp. Then get paid for it.

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The registration bot is itself built with Paige

Standings every week · Demo day 22 October

17 September

Register now. Registration closes at 21:00 on the 17th.

Registration is closed. Building has started.

Register any time before then. On the night of the 17th we announce the rules, the scoring and the goal. At 21:00 registration closes, building starts, and everyone who has registered gets an email to say the competition is open.

Registration closed at 21:00 on 17 September, when building started. Standings go up every week from 24 September, and the final ones on demo day, 22 October.

Worth being in the room

People at the kick-off get preference on entry. You still register on WhatsApp either way.

Kick-off · Indie Hackers Cape Town #53
When
Thu 17 Sept 2026, 18:15 to 21:30
Where
MindJoy, 6th Floor, 9 Jamieson St, Gardens, Cape Town
Ticket
R30, drinks and pizza included
On the night
The rules, the scoring, the prizes and the goal
Can't make it
Register anyway, before 21:00. We email you the moment it opens
Ends
Demo day, Thu 22 October
Who it is for

Anyone who wants to build

Any technical background, or none at all. You describe what you want and Paige writes it. Bring an idea and a business that needs it.

No code needed

Describe the bot in plain English. If you would rather write it yourself, Paige has an API and you can use any stack.

Solo or a team of three

Open to anyone in South Africa. No entry fee. You keep everything you build and all the IP in it.

You keep the client

Paige costs R570 a month. Charge what the work is worth, keep the difference, and it does not stop when the sprint does.

The tool

Describe it. Paige builds it.

Blank project to a bot live on a real WhatsApp number, in four steps.

Step 1Describe it Say what the bot should do, in plain English.
Step 2Try it Chat to it in the preview before anyone else does.
Step 3Connect a number Your client's own WhatsApp number, through Meta.
Step 4Ship it One deploy and it is answering real customers.
Prizes

Handed out on demo day, 22 October

First place

Winner

  • 12 months of Claude Pro, or the equivalent in Anthropic API credits
  • A bottle of Cape wine
Second place

Runner up

  • 6 months of Claude Pro, or the equivalent in API credits
  • A bottle of Cape wine

Four more ways to win

Most Efficient Build Best result per credit spent. A bottle
Bug Bounty Most accepted bug reports across the five weeks. A bottle
Build in Public The best and most consistent build log on LinkedIn. A bottle
People's Choice Voted by everyone taking part, ahead of demo day. A bottle
The prize that keeps paying

Charge a client R2,000 a month. Paige takes R570 of it, so you keep R1,430 every month. That is R17,160 in your first year, and it does not stop when the competition does. The prizes above are the bonus.

Register on WhatsApp

One message and you are in, until 21:00 on 17 September. The bot is built on Paige, which is the whole point.

Follow the standings

Registration is closed. Standings go up every week from 24 September, and the final ones on demo day, 22 October.

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