Some African innovative startups have been selected out of a pool of over 1,000 entries among nine winners of Smart Development Hack, a German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)-led hackathon designed to produce digital solutions to tackle the effects of coronavirus pandemic in developing countries around the world. The €24 million in prize money (that’s about $26 million) on the table. Code-named #SmartDevelopmentHack, the challenge was targeted at innovative digital solutions that are tackling the challenges caused by the Coronavirus outbreak in low- and middle-income countries.
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“Inspiring teams, exciting solutions, great commitment and the spirit to make a difference together have made the #SmartDevelopmentHack a unique digital event of international cooperation,” BMZ noted in a statement.
Here Is What You Need To Know
- In two days of hacking in a purely digital workshop, winning solutions from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe were developed in a bid to cushion unprecedented consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak in low-income and middle-income countries.
- The assessment was based on eight criteria: 1. Strategic Relevance (To what extent is the proposed project a solution to a relevant problem related to the coronavirus pandemic?); 2. Impact (How high do you rate the potential impact of the project?); 3. Scalability (How high is the potential for scaling the project?); 4. Compatibility (To what extent does the proposed project build on existing approaches and allow continuity of development efforts?); 5. Risk Mitigation (To what extent does the proposed project address associated risks, especially concerning a responsible approach to data collection?); 6. Cost Effectiveness (How do you assess the cost-benefit-ratio?); 7. Sustainability (How sustainable is the project overall?); 8. Leave No One Behind (To what extent does the project target marginalized groups?). Consideration was also given to regional diversity when selecting the final winners.
- The winning projects will receive technical and methodological support and, if successful, financial support for the final project concept.
- The hackathon, #SmartDevelopmentHack was run by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to “solicit innovative digital solutions to tackle the challenges caused by the coronavirus outbreak in low- and middle-income countries,” and funding came from supporters including the European Commission (through EuropeAid), GIZ, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Smart Africa, Technical University Munich, Oracle, and SAP, and others. The €24 million (about $26 million) in prize money was divided between the nine winners.
The winners of the #SmartDevelopmentHack Include:
- CallVsCorona: Real-time crisis information in Madagascar and beyond (Region: Madagascar)
The project establishes a hotline to connect the Madagascan government and its people during the COVID-19 crisis. It entails sensitization messages as well as recommendations on infection prevention, symptoms and action in case someone is infected. It moreover strengthens capacity building for health workers providing remote training through interactive voice response push campaigns. - Corona Audio Campaign directed at marginalized population (Region: Global South)
The solution is an open source tool of localized digital audio content and technologies for health education. It provides several innovative solutions to make relevant information accessible to anybody anywhere, for instance using solar powered audio players, mobile web applications and local Wifi hotspots. - Digital Agriculture Africa (Region: Kenya, Nigeria)
The solution will provide a “farm to fork solution”, a digital food security and agriculture supply value chain platform. It promotes zero contact to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by using technology to improve access to food and its distribution. The uber-like digital platform allows delivery riders and drivers to receive requests from consumers who have ordered products to deliver their food items to their doorstep. - Digital Enquirer’s Kit (Region: Chile, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Thailand, Uganda, Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, Laos, Zambia, Mauritania, Philippines, Peru, Turkey)
The solution collects, verifies and disseminates vital information to expose inconvenient truths on COVID-19 and to face censorship, harassment, arrests and other personal safety risk. - Drone and Data Aid (Region: Malawi, Rwanda)
The drone solution ensures an efficient health supply chain in remote areas and moreover maps pre- and post-COVID-19 impacts. The project will establish a “multi-purpose” drone network with local graduates to enter professions such as pilots, project managers and safety and maintenance workers. This solution does not happen in isolation but in an innovative ecosystem with the necessary legal and governmental infrastructure to support it. - Matchmaking platform for national and private health system in Peru (Region: Peru)
The cloud-based matchmaking platform is accessible on every internet-connected device, improving management processes and optimizing logistics in the health care system. It will help the government secure Peruvian citizens’ right to health care and hence plays a vital role in the country’s COVID-19 taskforce. - Mbaza — AI-based COVID19 chatbot (Region: Rwanda)
The solution provides access to valuable COVID-19 information in plain language on any phone at any time and enables feedback connecting people to the authorities. It allows citizens to raise concerns and to provide governments with information on the local situation. - Mobilizing Rural Women Entrepreneurs for COVID-19 Response and Recovery (Region: Bangladesh)
The solution will use existing connections with women entrepreneurs to reach and support the most vulnerable and at-risk groups in these areas. It will hence link with existing resources to build female entrepreneurs’ capacity for service delivery (e.g. home-made masks, disinfectants and soaps) and to integrate them into community-based partnership development. - Yoma powered by Atingi — Diamonds in the rough (Region: Sub-Sahara)
The solution will provide a digital platform for the youth to build their futures by actively engaging in social impact, learning and economic opportunities. The platform creates a marketplace of opportunities for both youth participants who engage in these opportunities as well organisations (social impact, corporate, SMEs, educational institutions, and more).
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For the remaining hackathon teams, some of which are still African startups and projects, an event will be hosted after the #SmartDevelopmentHack where they can present their project ideas to an audience of other potential implementing organizations. The goal is therefore to make full use of the potential of all the ideas that were submitted.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer