Big ideas hack the city
JOBURG – The #Hack.Jozi initiative has announced their top 10 digital ideas in this year's competition. Read on to see which ideas made the cut.
The top 10 digital ideas of the 2016 #Hack.Jozi Challenge have been announced.
The varied ideas include ways for parents to reduce screen time for their children, a free pick-up and drop-off laundry service and an online platform to upload or download building plans for quicker approval by local authorities.
The #Hack.Jozi Challenge is a project initiated by the City of Johannesburg and the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) at Wits University.
Ravi Naidoo, executive director for Economic Development for the City of Johannesburg, said they were overwhelmed, not only by the number of entries to the 2016 #Hack.Jozi Challenge, but also by their quality.
“The 2016 shortlist of 10 finalists is an impressive list of young people with new and innovative ideas in the digital arena,” he explained.
“After a rigorous process that has been playing out over the past six weeks, we now have 10 superb businesses which have fought through three rounds of the competition and have been judged on the technical feasibility of their venture… and the wow-factor,” Naidoo said.
“We have touched more than 100 entrepreneurs through this challenge.”
A demo day will be held on Friday, 13 May when all 10 ‘tech-preneurs’ will present the ideas that they have thrashed out with their peers and mentors during the course of the challenge.
Feedback from participants has also been extremely positive. Barend Craven from TimeWise explained, “My developer and I struggled for six months to solve one of the issues on our application. Prof. Barry Dwolatzky of the JCSE suggested a solution in five minutes that solved our problem.”
Now, judges will have to make the difficult decision on which aspiring business will win the R1 million and the two runners-up which will win R350 000 each. All three will be supported by a business mentor who will guide them on how best to use the prize money and further develop their idea into a successful, profitable enterprise.
The top three winners of the 2016 #HackJozi Challenge will be announced on 19 May.
Potential tech-preneurs were called on earlier this year to develop technology solutions to everyday Joburg problems and enter the #Hack.Jozi Challenge.
The top 100 entrants, all start-up entrepreneurs, attended a special entrepreneurship and business training boot camp geared to helping them develop their great digital ideas into possible business opportunities. The top 20 also received additional business mentorship.
The top 10 will enjoy a one-year free membership to the well-known ICT Hub in Braamfontein, which is a Wits University initiative under the leadership of Prof. Dwolatzky.
Its success in its launch year in 2015 saw the City of Johannesburg commit R5 million for the second #Hack.Jozi Challenge this year.
“This competition is designed to accelerate early stage ICT startups. It supports capacity development, job creation and enterprise development in our City,” Naidoo concluded.
The top 10 #HackJozi digital ideas are:
- Tuta-Me – A mobile application that looks to connect tutors with students for tutoring services.
- TimeWize Parental Control – A tool for parents to address screen-time issues with their children and their android devices.
- Mensch – An online marketplace where the demand for sound, pragmatic and sustainable advice by businesses is matched to the supply of high-quality business experts from South Africa’s top business schools and business consultancies.
- LCERT – LCERT (Low Cost Educational Robotics Toy) Kit, which includes hardware, software and activities.
- Spotless – A pick-up and drop-off of laundry service that ensures that clothes are cleaned and dry-cleaned to the highest standards.
- Advicement – Building an online platform which aims to automate the functions of a traditional financial advisor.
- DUEPROP – An integrated online due-diligence portal, available on multiple platforms and designed for all property sector stakeholders.
- eSubmit – An online platform on which building plans and other related documentation can be uploaded and/or downloaded for the purposes of obtaining building approval from local authorities.
- Gradrr – This system prepares and automatically marks multiple-choice questions. Advanced features are being offered to educational institutions to analyse and report on the information.
- TechnoVera – Smart lockers that reduce the average waiting time for patients collecting chronic medication at primary healthcare collection facilities.
Details: www.hackjozichallenge.co.za; @HackJozi
