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Finalists & judges for Cape Town Township Tech Hackathon announced

The Cape Town Township Tech Hackathon recently took place in the Mother City earlier this month, 19th to 21st February to be more precise, thanks to a partnership between the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi) and Khayelitsha Bandwidth Barn.

Now that the dust has settled following all of the hackathon pitches, the finalists for the Township Tech Hackathon have been announced, along with the judges who will be evaluating and mentoring them throughout the next stages of the process.

For those unfamiliar with the event, 40 township-based technologists and entrepreneurs showed up to the challenge, brainstorming and presenting their most innovative solutions during the weekend-long, online hackathon. Teams submitted their pitch videos focusing on solving the key problem statements and themes.

The themes and winning teams are as follows:

Theme 1:  Safety & Security 

Team OHMS

Team Tech Khaltsha

Theme 2:  Reach and Support

Team Basket

Team Thenga IT Troopers

Theme 3: Increased Connectivity 

Team Cyberspace

Team Tech Innovators

“We are so inspired by these entrepreneurs!  In total we received 12 submissions from 10 teams. Now each of the finalist teams will receive coaching sessions to polish their pitches for the final pitch event,” noted Fezeka Mavuso, GM at the Khayelitsha Bandwidth Barn.

“The main purpose of the Township Tech initiative is to build capability and strengthen Township Technology solutions”, added Ian Merrington, CEO of CiTi.

The judges, who each oversaw a theme during the pitch phase of the Township Tech Hackathon, are as follows:

  • Lara Rosmarin – Currently the head of Entrepreneur Development and Incubation for CiTi. Her primary role is to Lead the Entrepreneurial Development and Incubation division keeping existing products relevant and support the design of new products to further empower the entrepreneurial trajectory.
  • Carrie Leaver – She works as a programme officer for the AG Makers Programme at the Allan Gray Orbis Philanthropy. In 2018, she co-founded Stoep Startup Coworking Space with a fellow female social entrepreneur.
  • Tyrone Adams – Tyrone is the co-Founder and CEO of Skywalk Innovations, a technology partner founded in January 2014. He is passionate about building Africa’s premier Global Technology firm.

Next for the finalists is a massive pitch competition on the 10th March 2021. The final pitch winners could receive a R5 000 cash prize, three months free co-working space at the Bandwidth Barn, a 10-month online entrepreneurial programme, as well as the creation of a promotional marketing video featuring their new businesses.

Best of luck to the finalists. You can find out more about the Hackathon, here.

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