NextGen Unlocked: Inside CPO Track NextGen Learn & Build

29 May 2026 | The Economist, The Adelphi, London

"The absolute buzz in the room as the kids shared ideas, asked questions and got so excited about seeing their ideas come to life made this a really magical afternoon."

A Room Worth Being In

On Friday 29 May 2026, The Economist opened its doors in London for something a little different. Children aged 7 to 15 walked in, sat down, and 90 minutes later walked out as app founders.

This was CPO Track NextGen: Learn & Build, the community's first ever kids hackathon. The brief was clear: use Lovable to plan, build and publish something that solves a real problem. The energy in the room did the rest.

What the Kids Built

Each child had 90 minutes, with free Lovable credits to build with. What happened next was hard to script.

Ideas flew around the room. Questions got asked. Apps took shape. One 12-year-old built something with over 20 games and parental controls. Others shipped ideas they had been sitting on with no way to bring them to life until that afternoon.

"The absolute buzz in the room as the kids shared ideas, asked questions and got so excited about seeing their ideas come to life made this a really magical afternoon."

The parents, meanwhile, were occupied with pizza, good conversation and a tour of The Economist. No backseat driving, as it should be.

The Takeaway Nobody Planned For

The apps were impressive. But the real moment of the day was quieter than that.

"The kids who were less sure about themselves realised that they lose nothing by getting started. Even if you change your mind, what you learned the first time around makes your next idea something really special."

That shift, from uncertainty to momentum, is what this kind of event makes possible. AI tools used with purpose become a test bed. A way to bring an idea to life fast enough that the learning is immediate, and the next attempt is already better.

The People Who Made It Happen

None of this happened by accident. Namrata Sarmah pulled it together and the whole community showed up to make it work. The workshop leaders on the day were Sarah Williams, Piera Bretton, Caroline Everard, Nikkhil Gupta, Erik Schwartz, Jo Tillson, Rohan Maheswaran, AJ Phipps, Bhavesh Vaghela and Eleni Lialiamou, every one of them coming together to help these kids build something real.

The Economist hosted, and Eleni Lialiamou, Kimolian's founder and a Lovable ambassador, helped bring the free credits that gave every child the platform to build.

"CPO Track can also start a school. We have proof."

That line from Namrata says it better than anything else could.

What This Reflects

Kimolian has always believed that the real advantage in the age of AI is the humans behind it. The people deciding where to focus it, what to prioritise, and what to do with what they learn. On 29 May, those people were between 7 and 15 years old, and they were brilliant.

This is the kind of event worth showing up for. And worth building on.