Jozi finds its top innovator
JOBURG - The City of Joburg has finally chosen the top three winners of a competition aimed at improving the living conditions of the Johannesburg community.
The #Hack.Jozi.Challenge has been running since the beginning of the year and is a search of the most innovative and life-changing ideas that could be implemented into the Jozi lifestyle and improve living conditions in the city.
The competition arose from the need to find the people in the community who want to make a difference by developing the best digital solutions to everyday problems that the people of the city are faced with.
The City of Joburg’s calls were responded to by more than 140 entrants from around Joburg, following which a ‘hackathon’ was held to reduce the numbers from 40 to 10.
A number of topics were touched on in the application stages of the competition, which ranged from security to health, music and even digital marketing solutions.
The head of broadband at the City of Johannesburg, Zolani Matebese said, “The judging committee, consisting of executives from the mayoral office, representatives from Wits University’s JCSE, The Innovation Hub, IBM and various entrepreneurs selected the top three from the top 10.”
The top three were Desmond Mongwe of MoWallet who was awarded R1 million, and Niel Pieters of Lazy Lizzard and Percy Lawrence of MoveThisStuff who were both awarded R350 000.
MoWallet enables brands to connect with customers and improve distribution of vouchers in a ‘fast-moving consumer goods’ environment.
Providing education to the youth is the aim of the Lazy Lizzard programme which is educational software that is available online and allows parents to track the progress of their children.
While MoveThisStuff is a logistics application that provides cost effective removal and transport options.
“The #Hack.Jozi.Challenge offered extensive support to finalists,” said Matebese. “Entrepreneurs need access to seed funding as well as access to industry contacts. We have helped resolve these challenges.”
Details: hackjozichallenge.co.za
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NOT SO LAZY: Niel Pieters is one of the top three in the #Hack.Jozi.Challenge for his innovation, Lazy Lizzard, and receives R350 000 to develop his idea.
