App developers invited to participate in Hackathon this weekend
All programming buffs can strut their best stuff this weekend competing in a hackathon for App developers. The competition is in support of Standard Bank’s Buy-A-Brick campaign and runs in collaboration with the Namibia Business Innovation Institute.
Pieter Kruger, the bank’s Chief Information Officer said the app competition serves to stimulate innovativeness and creativity amongst software developers and future entrepreneurs through the development of a dedicated mobile application to promote the fundraising campaign.
The Hackathon will see various participants competing to build mobile applications for the initiative to aid in its fundraising efforts. The event will commence with coding sessions from 06 to 08 October, followed by a pitching session on the 10th and will conclude with the awards ceremony on the 11th of October.
The bank’s flagship Buy-a-Brick initiative was launched in October 2015 with contributions previously made through the purchase of token bricks, in the form of erasers, however the mobile application will make fund-raising efforts easier and far-reaching.
“The Buy-a-Brick Hackathon 2017 is open to teams who have new or existing ideas or prototypes with a viable business concept. The novelty and quality of the mobile application idea, the demonstration of the application prototype and execution strategy of the proposed application, as well as the clarity and persuasiveness of the oral presentation will all influence the judges’ decisions,” Kruger added.
“Through this Hackathon we aim to expose a number of young people to the Buy-a-Brick initiative, receive great solutions and to see the strength of the talent in the country,” he continued.
Participation in the competition is open to all members of the public aged 18 and older. Entrants should be Namibians or citizens residing in Namibia, having made Namibia their centre or choice of business location.
Team work is encouraged as the development of the mobile or web application, name and application can be a more rewarding and successful experience if shared with others. And, chances for success are increased if the founding team has complementary knowledge and skills,” Kruger stressed.
Groups formed for the purpose of developing a mobile or web application, system or database prototype should consist of 5 to 6 members.
The bank said every individual may only be part of one submission, and such team is required to define their business implementation strategy. Each team should consist of at least two software developers.
The best app will collect its developers a cool N$20,000, the runners-up get N$15,000 and the third spot takes home N$7500.
