The founder of Technovera, a start-up company that uses technology to allow people with chronic conditions to collect their repeat medication in just a few minutes, has walked off with the R1m grand prize at 2016’s #Hack.Jozi Challenge.
The City of Johannesburg and Wits University crowned Technovera founder Neo Hutiri as the overall winner at the challenge, with a R700 000 prize split between two runners-up.
Said Hutiri: “I used to be a patient collecting treatment from a public clinic. It’s really an unpleasant experience to wait the whole day just to manage your condition. Technovera is a technology solution that improves patient care by ending the indignity and exhaustion of long queues.”
The top three contestants, selected from over 400 entries and a short-list of 10, came up with original digital solutions to tackle obstacles faced by people with chronic conditions, help students who need academic support, and boost efficiency in building plan applications to promote property development in Johannesburg, the organisers said in a statement.
The top 10 finalists went through a rigorous bootcamp, mentorship and development process that began at the end of March, an initiative of the economic development department in the City of Johannesburg and Wits University through its Joburg Centre for Software Engineering.
Ravi Naidoo, executive director for economic development for the City of Johannesburg, said that participation in the 2016 challenge increased by well over one third compared to the first round of the initiative held last year.
“We received over 400 strong applications, compared to 140 last year, and eliminating contestants down to the top 10 and then the top three as the challenge progressed was far tougher that we anticipated,” Naidoo said in the statement.
First runner-up was the team that developed Tuta-Me, a mobile application that connects qualified tutors and students, allowing students to receive one-on-one tutoring while empowering tutors to earn or supplement their incomes.
Tuta-Me was founded by Abed Tau, who is a chartered accountant by profession, and Dylan Hyslop, who holds a computer science degree.
Second runner-up was awarded to Lomile Mokoka, a qualified architect, who developed eSubmit as an e-solution for a problem she was experiencing first hand when submitting building plan applications to the municipality. — (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media
