The African Development Bank (AfDB) and partners will host an international 72-hour online competition, the #AfricaVsVirus Challenge – aimed at developing effective solutions to the coronavirus pandemic – from April 16 to 19.
The hackathon, or as the AfDB calls it, the "ideathon", is open to entrepreneurs, companies, civil society organisations and governments with bankable solutions or ventures to address the pandemic. The top pitches will be eligible to win thousands of dollars’ worth of financial, technical and skills-learning support to advance their implementation.
Details on competition qualifications and methods of participation can be found at www.africavsvirus.com.
The #AfricaVsVirus Challenge opens on April 16 at 18:30 and runs non-stop through to April 19 at 18:30. Entrants can choose to submit ideas under one of the following sectors: public health and epidemiology, vulnerable populations, businesses and economy, community, education, entertainment, government support, environment and energy, and food security. Alternatively, they may also choose their own theme.
AfDB Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy coordinator Tapera Muzira says Covid-19’s impact on the international economy is pushing millions of people, especially women and young people, into unemployment, underemployment and working poverty.
“Part of our response is the #AfricaVsVirus Challenge. This online challenge will channel youth creativity and innovation to real-life solutions that mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on health, the economy, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and jobs.”
An expert panel will select the 20 best solutions submitted, and these finalists will be invited to take part in a one-month educational programme by Switzerland-based emerging market development agency Seedstars.
The top three winning ideas will receive up to $50 000 worth of in-kind prizes.
The #AfricaVsVirus Challenge is part of the AfDB’s strategy to support young African entrepreneurs, especially young women entrepreneurs and their SMEs, and startups by providing an enabling environment to innovate appropriate solutions to the Covid-19 crisis.
The bank’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, working closely with the Youth Entrepreneurship & Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund, is hosting the ‘ideathon’, with partners Seedstars, digital agency WAAT and development consultants Luvent Consulting.
Rollout of the #AfricaVsVirus Challenge follows the AfDB’s launch of a $10-billion Covid-19 response facility on April 8, and the sale of a record $3-billion debt issue in March to raise financing to help African countries confront the pandemic, which is already wreaking havoc on their economies.
Interested parties can follow the global conversation about the competition by following #AfricaVsVirus on social media, or by logging on to www.africavsvirus.com.