Finding entrepreneurs to serve justice
BRAAMFONTEIN – Constitution Hill set the scene for an enthralling battle for justice.
The Awethu Project brought a number of entrepreneurs together at a justice accelerator programme to find the best innovations.
Awethu Project is an innovative SMME investment and funding company in South Africa that incubates (using programmes to develop and grow entrepreneurs) any promising start-ups, from a spaza shop to an up-and-coming construction company, in need of funding and guidance.
The company partnered with the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) to create the HiiL Justice Accelerator, a global programme that selects and mentors innovators who want to improve access to the law.
On 22 September, the programme visited Constitution Hill to host a mini Dragon’s Den-style face-off between five entrepreneurs, who were challenged to present the most innovative ideas that would better provide access to law services in South Africa. “In the four or five years we’ve been looking into the justice sector, we found that the missing piece was entrepreneurs,” said Connor Sattely, Business Acceleration agent at HiiL.
“In this gap of the development of the justice sector, we found entrepreneurs creating apps, platforms and services designed to help people access justice, and that’s why we created the HiiL Justice Accelerator. During the programme we first find, then challenge, then accelerate the business.” While the challenge that took place at Constitution Hill did not affect the rank and position of those who have made it to the global programme, it was exciting to see how the minds of the five entrepreneurs who were present, work and how they intend to make the justice system accessible.
Kayan Leung, attorney at Lawyers for Human Rights, explained that some of the main issues with regards to access to justice were the costs of hiring a lawyer or even travelling expenses when trying to access a pro bono (free) lawyer, and locations of the courts or other service-providing institutions – issues that could possibly be eradicated through this programme.
The finalists could receive up to R2,5 million in seed funding at the culmination of the programme, to be confirmed for a later date, and change the justice sector across the globe – and with five finalists from South Africa, the winners could be our very own.
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