Ten ICT innovators from Rwanda have been selected in the Kigali edition of the Start-up World challenge that will see the winner represent the country in Silicon Valley, California in the United States early next year.
The codefest, which kicks off today, presents an opportunity for people with passion for ICT to come up with innovative projects that give solutions to challenges in the technology industry.
Commenting on the event, country director of DOT Rwanda Violette Uwamutara said participants will present their projects before an independent panel of judges.
“The best one would then be selected to represent Rwanda in the grand finale,’’ she said.
Kenya’s capital Nairobi hosted the competition last Friday, with SMS bill-paying service Sametime emerging as the winner. Earlier on, Pashash won the South African edition.
The winners from Rwanda and Tanzania will compete for the top prize of US$37,000, free Rackspace hosting and Echo real-time streams in the grand finale.
“Africa is the new innovation centre and Rwanda is a leader in recognising the need to support new ideas and young innovators to impact positively in ICT sector,” Silicon Valley promoter and founder Hermione Way said.
Way said the competition seeks to tap talents across Africa as well as offer developers a chance to come up with innovative aspects essential for the community.
ICT innovation has been recognised as a key element in steering countries to economic prowess, according to some so economic analysts. The competition in Rwanda will encourage, inspire, nurture and promote local talents who can compete internationally to boost the technology industry.
Start-up World is a global initiative managed by The Next Web, a UK-based leading techno-news agency. It aims to promote businesses, entrepreneurship and technology through global competitions that are held across the world.
