Bangladesh crowned champion at UN AI hackathon

Bangladesh's team "zAI BD" has become champion at the global AI hackathon organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). The grand final of the competition was held at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 15.

The team was led by Abu Nasser Muhammad Nafiu, innovation manager and AI engineer at Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BdREN). Bangladesh took the top spot in the final, beating teams from the United States, China, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Five-month competition ends in Bangkok

The competition was titled "Global Hackathon on Using AI for Digital Trade Regulatory Analysis". Its aim was to build an open-source AI tool capable of finding and analysing digital trade-related laws of different countries. Such legal information is used in preparing ESCAP's Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (RDTII).

According to local media reports, several hundred teams from 37 countries took part in multiple rounds of screening over nearly five months. Bangladesh reached the final alongside the teams from the five countries.

The final was held on October 15 at the UN Conference Centre in Bangkok, both in person and online. The event was organised by ESCAP's Trade, Investment and Innovation Division. Each team's platform was tested with a country and a subject that had not been announced in advance. The judges used the platforms themselves, followed by a presentation and question-and-answer session.