KAWU, Early Stroke Detector, NileBoda and GoGoPlay Win In Uganda and South Sudan

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Telehealth startup, Early Stroke Detector and fintech KAWU were crowned winners of the Uganda leg of the Digital Innovations for Business Resilience in the EAC region while NileBoda and GoGo Play ruled the roost in South Sudan. The four startups bagged $1,000 to further their innovations courtesy of the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA).

Central Teaching Facility (CTF) II at Makerere University was the venue for the Uganda National Pitch Event on Saturday

 Early Stroke Detector, led by Keith Richard Kwagala, is a startup that is building a device that detects stroke. The device monitors the movement of waves in the carotid artery and if there is a slight change in the pattern of waves, the user and the next of kin will be notified. Annually, 15m people suffer from stroke. Of these, 5m die and a further 5m are left permanently disabled. This is why this startup received strong backing from the judges.

Early Stroke Detector Team Leader, Keith Richard Kwagala during his pitch (L) and receiving a dummy cheque from IUCEA’s Ben Ruhinda with his teammate Sidney (R) after emerging as winners

 On the other hand, KAWU (loosely translated as brokenness) is a fintech that is looking to bring financial inclusion to the millions of students that are enrolled at any level of education in Uganda. The startup, led by Steven Kakooza, has a card that a parent can top-up anytime, anywhere and the student will receive the money. The student can then withdraw their money from a teacher who scans the card. Whereas Mobile Money could have solved this, it is illegal to carry phones in almost all schools in Uganda.

Steven Kakooza convinces the judge of his innovation, KAWU(L) and on the right, receives a dummy cheque from IUCEA’a Ben Ruhinda

In South Sudan, NileBoda and GoGo Play emerged as winners. NileBoda is a ride-hailing startup that connects riders to motorcyclists in Juba. Ride-hailing has grown tremendously in various cities in Africa, and the team led by Suzanne Gedeon wants to add Juba to the list of these cities. 

The South Sudan National Pitch Event was held at the University of Juba Main Auditorium

GoGo Play is a a video on-demand streaming service that will showcase South Sudanese content from music, movies and comedy to reality shows and live events. GoGo Play is led by Rachel Hakim, a student at Kampala University Juba Branch.

The two winning teams from South Sudan GoGo Play and NileBoda celebrate after receiving their dummy cheques from IUCEA

The National Pitch Event for Uganda was held at the Central Teaching Facility (CTF) II in Makerere University on Saturday 26th March 2022 and it came at the end of a week-long boot camp at the Makerere Innovation and Incubation Centre (MIIC). Only the top 10 startups were invited to this Bootcamp from the over 270 innovators that applied.

For South Sudan, which was also held simultaneously, the BootCamp took place at Junub Open Space while the national pitch event was held at the Main Auditorium at the University of Juba. Kenya and Rwanda will follow from 28th March up to 2nd April 2022 with Burundi and Tanzania wrapping up the Bootcamp and national pitch events phase from 4th April to 9th April 2022. The top two teams from each country will compete at the regional finals for a share of $10,000 in grants.

About the Program

Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry (dSkills@EA) is a project as part of the technical development cooperation between the German Government under the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat.

The project is implemented by the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), together with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the East African-German academic consortium led by the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) and the University of Oldenburg (UOL) together with its partners the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), the University of Technology and Arts Byumba (UTAB), the University of Applied Sciences Mannheim and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

 

Selected Bootcamp Participants for Kenya

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We are glad to announce the 10 participants from Kenya that have qualified for the national bootcamps and pitch events that are set to start on 28th March 2022. The bootcamps are the third phase of the  Digital Innovations for Business Resilience in the East African Community, a program under the dSkills@EA project.

This program aims to support young innovators at universities in the East African Community to develop and implement digital innovations for business resilience in the times of Covid-19. It started with a call for applications from 24th January 2022 to 21st February 2022. Successful applicants then entered the Ideathon phase which ran from 25th February 2022 to 7th March 2022. Read more about the program here.   

 The 10 participants that advanced to the Bootcamp phase were selected by a combination of country leads and experts using the selection criteria defined here.  

Here are the selected participants that advanced to the Bootcamp stage in Kenya.  

Easy Home by Benaiah Wepundi

Easy Home is a digital innovation that provides property owners with a platform to list their properties, screen tenants based on data that we provide and manage their properties. 

AstraPark by Nirel Kadzo

AstraPark is a B2B solution for real estate developers with parking assets and a B2C solution where individuals can book parking spaces. 

Scan and Go by Joy Nafula

Scan and Go allows users to buy goods by scanning items in a supermarket.

GAO-UG Ltd by Akejo Gordon Victor

GAO-UG is an app where farmers are able to order agriculture inputs and farm tools which are delivered straight to their doorstep. 

TOW N’MECH by Eric Kiverenge

TOW N’MECH is a digital innovation that can pinpoint the location of motorists and the nearest auto service station so that they can get assistance. 

Juba Street WiFi by Abraham Nyuon

Juba Street WiFi is an innovation that will set up WiFi hotspots on the streets of Juba. Users can pay for a voucher using mobile money, receive a code to use as a password and then access the WiFi.

Gwiji by Elizabeth Mwangi

Gwiji is a digital platform that connects casual cleaners to their clients through a mobile app.

Cattle Rustling by Flavian Anselmo

Cattle Rustling is an innovation that is able to track the location of animals using a device that is embedded in the animal’s collar.

4Farm(ER) by Sonia Claire

This innovation is a dry store plant with automatic testing. Drying and storage chambers. Farmers can bring their produce after harvesting for drying and storage for a fee. 

Imapct Farm by Charles Oyamo

Impact Farm is a grocery delivery service that delivers fresh groceries in under 30 minutes from a network of small scale farmers. 

What is next?  

 The Kenya Bootcamp phase will begin on 28th March 2022 and will be held at Strathmore University. This phase will end with a pitch event on 2nd April 2022 at Daystar University where the top two participants to represent Kenya at the regional grand finale will be selected. You can join the event as a member of the online audience by registering here www.dskills.iucea.org/ke-pitch  

  

 

 

 

Selected Bootcamp Participants for Rwanda

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We are glad to announce the 10 participants from Rwanda that have qualified for the national bootcamps and pitch events that are set to start on 28th March 2022. The bootcamps are the third phase of the  Digital Innovations for Business Resilience in the East African Community, a program under the dSkills@EA project.

This program aims to support young innovators at universities in the East African Community to develop and implement digital innovations for business resilience in the times of Covid-19. It started with a call for applications from 24th January 2022 to 21st February 2022. Successful applicants then entered the Ideathon phase which ran from 25th February 2022 to 7th March 2022. Read more about the program here.   

 The 10 participants that advanced to the Bootcamp phase were selected by a combination of country leads and experts using the selection criteria defined here.  

Here are the selected participants that advanced to the Bootcamp stage in Rwanda.  

Smart Water Meter by Ndayisenga Gilbert

Smart Water Meter is an innovation that counts the water consumed through its digital water monitoring platform. It also predicts water demand and provides real-time notifications on water usage. 

Nzuri Homes by Della Asiko

Nzuri Homes is a digital solution that tracks the availability of houses in Kigali and their occupancy status for students saving them time and costs.

Vitaway E-Clinic by Emmanuel Hakuzimana

Vitaway E-Clinic is a digital healthcare multi-disciplinary platform offering nutritional interventions and personalized care among other services.

RERANEZA by Uwizeye Jeanette

RERANEZA is a software that connects parents, schools and students on one platform to improve the performance of the students through providing personalized and regular feedback.

Smart Hinga by Gedeon Nshimiyumukiza

Smart Hinga is a web-based application that analyzes crop health. It also monitors and connects farmers with their agricultural activities from any part of the world. 

Track and Book Services by Ishimwe Gad Bertrand

Track and Book is digitalizing the transport system in Rwanda by leveraging smartphones, smart cards and e-payments. 

Examira by Raissa Kamikazi Ndayizeye

Examira is an innovation that helps students to access course material and other education programs. 

BAYI Group by Abayisenga Enock

BAYI Group is the builder of the Agri-automatic Rice Transplanter, the world’s first machine that can transplant rice automatically without an operator on board. 

Hela by Eric Gakyeli

Hela is a loyalty program mobile app that will be used for the payment of goods and services where the customer accumulates points for paying overtime. 

Farm Connect by Rukundo Jean Baptiste

Farm Connect is an app that helps farmers in making a choice by browsing through offers from multiple buyers for their goods before making a decision on who to sell to. 

 

What is next?  

 The Rwanda Bootcamp phase will begin on 28th March 2022 and will be held at the Grid Innovation and Incubation Hub at the University of Rwanda. This phase will end with a pitch event on 2nd April 2022 where the top two participants to represent Rwanda at the regional grand finale will be selected. You can join the event as a member of the online audience by registering here www.dskills.iucea.org/rw-pitch 

  

 

 

 

Selected Bootcamp Participants in South Sudan  

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On 25th February 2022, we embarked on a physical Ideathon phase at the Koneta Hub for participants of the Digital Innovations for Business Resilience in the East African Community, a program under the dSkills@EA project. Read more about the program here. Over the next week, participants were taught various topics to enable them to define their ideas and prototype their solutions. We are glad to announce the 10 participants that have advanced to the next phase, boot camps, and national pitch events, that begin on 21st March 2022.    

  The 10 participants that advanced to the Bootcamp phase were selected by a combination of country leads and experts using the selection criteria defined here.  

Here are the selected participants that advanced to the Bootcamp stage in South Sudan.   

 Agrochemicals, tools, and equipment, by John Nyang Chan  

 This digital innovation ensures the availability of agrochemicals, tools, and equipment to eliminate the pests and diseases that destroy crops of the local farmers 

 National Students Open Library, by Deng’Kur Mading   

 This digital innovation will provide Kindles with relevant reading materials for reading which shall be rented out to interested students based on their colleges. 

 Website for Online Photography Business, by Them Buoi Stephen 

  A website that will be used by customers to communicate with operators of photo studios. That is, they can book online to avoid waiting in queues and can also be informed through that website to collect their photos and more importantly, make appointments online.  

 GoGo Play, by Rachel Hakim 

  GoGo Play is a South Sudanese subscription-based video-on-demand service offering a variety of content like music, series, drama, comedy, ticketing, and events. It will be the bridge between the audience and creative creators. It will expose, market, promote, distribute, monetize and employ entertainers.  

 Junub Products, by Isaac Wako  

 Creating a website for local beehive farmers and honey sellers to advertise their products and make online sales as well.  

 Nileboda, by Suzanne Gideon 

  Nileboda is a ride-hailing digital innovation that connects commuters to well-trained bike riders through a mobile app. 

   Innovation by Duot Santino Malong 

  Innovation is a food delivery app that delivers food from restaurants to the homes or workplaces of our customers. The customers will place their orders through our app.  

 Guot, by Ambrose Guot Deng 

  Guot is an innovation that will enable its users to collect waste in one place for easy collection by garbage trucks 

  Ayum, by Marko Chol Maluil 

  Ayum is an ambulance service that will make it easier for customers to get transported from homes/scenes to health facilities. They will also receive first aid services from our trained health workers. Customers will be able to order an ambulance through an app and also by contacting our call center.  

 Kuachol, by Guen Chuol 

 Kuachol is a centralized learning and assignment management platform. It will provide one single source of truth on courses, syllabi, and external examinations for follow-up on academic progress. 

 What is next?  

 The South Sudan Bootcamp phase will begin on 21st March 2022 and will be held at the Koneta Hub in Juba. This phase will end with a pitch event on 26th March 2022 where the top two participants to represent South Sudan and the regional grand finale will be selected.  

  

 

 

Selected Bootcamp Participants in Uganda

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We are glad to announce the 10 participants from Uganda that have qualified for the national bootcamps and pitch events that are set to start on 21st March 2022. The boot camps are the third phase of the Digital Innovations for Business Resilience in the East African Community, a program under the dSkills@EA project. Read more about the program here 

 Register here to join pitch events  

 The 10 participants that advanced to the Bootcamp phase were selected by a combination of country leads and experts using the selection criteria defined here. 

Here are the selected participants that advanced to the Bootcamp stage in Uganda.  

Sail Credit, by Victoria Nakitto 

Sail Credit is a peer-to-peer lending platform that allows patients to cover any form of medical expenses without having to pay for it upfront. This allows patients to get timely treatment and get good medical care and then pay back in instalments.  

 

MEDIBERS, by Sandra Matinyi  

MEDIBERS is an e-commerce one-stop market for healthcare products and services aimed at improving the healthcare supply chain by linking suppliers of different needs like equipment, reagents, consumables, lab services, and services like consultations and equipment maintenance and repairs to consumers 

Pelel Innovation Enterprises, by Lele Janet 

Pelel Innovation Enterprises, through the Pelel Mobile Application, provides free knowledge to farmers about good agronomic practices. They can also access loans in the shortest period of time to cover urgent needs. This is because it compiles the credit scores of all registered farmers which can be used by the financial institutions to determine the creditworthiness of the farmers.  

PRAC Aquatics Ltd, by Patrick Nyakojo 

PRAC Aquatics Ltd is a solution that connects small-scale fish farmers directly to potential buyers without third parties involved. They have a say in what they do. They set the prices they want and have a diversity of potential buyers to choose from.  

Early Stroke Detection, by Keith Richard Kwagala 

The Early Stroke Detection is a wearable portable device that monitors the behaviour of blood flow through the carotid arteries by amplifying and listening to the sound. It records this and will beep whenever blood flow is interrupted within the carotid artery leading to the brain.  

Care Giver, by Isaac Tumusiime 

Care Giver is a mobile application that links mothers to service providers that provide postnatal care services such as breastfeeding, nutrition, immunization, family planning, and hygiene among others. It also reminds them about the next appointments, both postnatal visits and immunization schedules.  

A Million Docs, by Joshua Ogwang 

A Million Docs is a digital platform that offers a video consultation service where patients can pay to access consultation from doctors of their choice at convenience with a link to the pharmacy to buy prescription 

Refill My Art, by Kabasombo Ester 

This innovation helps people to pick their medicine from their respective facilities and is delivered to their places of convenience like workplaces or homes. This prevents them from spending long hours at health facilities and taking their medicine on time. 

 

Lalogi Technologies, by Nuwagaba Raymond 

Lalogi Technologies is a low-cost mobile solution that makes cervical cancer screening easy and more available to different parts of Uganda and can be used by both medical and non-medical personnel. Its accuracy also reduces the number of false positives.  

Kawu, by Steven Kakooza 

Kawu is a 5D approach that addresses money transfer, safe expenditure, and savings challenges amongst students. It also offers alternative sources of income to the school staff that acts as agents.  

What is next? 

The Uganda Bootcamp phase will begin on 21st March 2022 and will be held at the Makerere Incubation and Innovation Centre at Makerere University. This phase will end with a pitch event on 26th March 2022 where the top two participants to represent Uganda and the regional grand finale will be selected. 

 

Register here to join pitch events