Hack Covid-19 in this online hackathon and stand a chance to win cash prizes
StartUp Namibia will host a 54-hour Hackathon in the weekend of 17 to 19 April titled ‘#NamibiaHacksCovid19’, focusing on accelerating solutions to support the health system and businesses as the Covid-19 pandemic spreads.
The online event was created through a partnership by GIZ on behalf of the German Government and Namibia’s Ministry of Industrialization and Trade as well as the Ministry of Health, Green Enterprise Solutions and Dololo Namibia.
The hackathon is open to the tech sector, interdisciplinary teams, developer communities, University students, health professionals and businesses. The Hackathon will be judged by an interdisciplinary judging panel from both the public and private sector and will take into account; social impact, degree of innovation, feasibility and scalability, how close the solution is to making it to the market, and its ease of use. Daisry Mathias from the Office of the President will also support the hackathon as a judge and mentor.
“In these extraordinary times it comes to everyone to put on their thinking hats, through collaborative thought we can defeat Covid-19 using technology and innovation. Having both public and private sector join together in this hackathon demonstrates how important it is to find a solution,” said Anna Vambe of GIZ’s StartUp Namibia.
Teams consisting of three to six members may enter the hackathon, which will be coordinated via digital platforms. Due to the nationwide Lockdown and the measures in place, the event will be exclusively online and there will be no physical gatherings. Adding a level of difficulty not previously experienced in hackathons, but which now with COVID19 is the new normal.
The winners of the hackathon will walk away with a cash prize of N$50, 000; while the runner up receives N$25, 000; with the third prize set at N$15, 000.
The #NamibiaHacksCovid19 will hack solutions for two main problems:
– Health: the teams will develop new innovative ideas that address and scale a range of health initiatives, including preventative/ hygiene behaviours, supporting frontline health workers, scaling telemedicine, contact tracing/ containment strategies, treatment and diagnosis development.
– Business Continuity: the teams will create solutions to the problems that businesses are facing to stay afloat, collaborate effectively and move parts of their business online. This includes sectors that are specially affected like tourism, construction, informal vendors, etc.
“We are delighted to be part of this hackathon and assist in finding ways to develop healthcare as well as business continuity solutions to this global crises. Why shouldn’t the solution come from this hackathon in Namibia, we have the talent and the drive, let’s show the world what we can contribute,” added Green Enterprise Solutions Managing Director, Kehad Snydewel.
To register visit StartUp Namibia’s website or follow the official hashtag and join the Facebook Group StartUp Namibia Hackathon for regular updates: #Namibia HacksCovid19.
