The City of Johannesburg’s Smart City Office, in collaboration with digital innovation hub Tshimologong Innovation Precinct, invites technology and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) startup companies to submit proposals for smart city innovative solutions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The top three proposals will be taken into rapid development and supported by Tshimologong’s virtual bootcamp and will receive a prototyping grant of R500 000 each.
The awards will provide the opportunity to take solutions into a pilot phase within the City of Johannesburg.
“This innovation call is an opportunity for innovators of our city to present their innovative solutions to help our city respond in a smarter way to challenges posed by Covid-19. We also hope to use this initiative to help to grow innovation in Joburg and thus make Joburg a leading African City of Innovation," says City of Johannesburg Smart City Office leader Lawrence Boya.
He emphasises that the ability to engage citizens through digital and mobile platforms is crucial in all technologies presented as solutions.
This will be a collaborative effort between startups, corporate companies, investors, hubs, makerspaces, and government through the City of Johannesburg’s Smart City Office to support young innovators toward developing viable socially impactful solutions and businesses, he adds.
Innovators and startups interested in the challenge can visit the City of Johannesburg website for more details.