Deadline: September 18, 2015
iDEA has partnered with USPF to put together a hackathon that will solve a major problem for the benefit of the whole Nation (Nigeria).
The problem: 36.8 million Nigerians in 207 areas currently have no access to mobile coverage. This means if they get sick they can’t call an ambulance and can’t use the Internet to learn new things or move money. This is a big problem and how were going to solve it is by inviting all the smartest people in Nigeria to a 3 day hackathon to build innovative software and Business models that will give these areas access to mobile coverage.
USPF is calling out to brilliant software developers, data scientists, UX designers, ICT experts, engineers, strategists, public policy experts and students to get involved and solve this underlying ICT problem within 48 hours by building fully working prototypes of their solutions following specific technical guidelines.
Date:Friday, September 18th – Sunday, September 20th, 2015
Venue: iDEA Nigeria – 296 Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba. Lagos, Nigeria
Time: 4pm
Eligibility
The Challenge is open to:
- Anybody within Nigerian territory that is present at the hackathon venue
- Pre-formed teams that work at the same organisation,provided that they have not worked on their entry together in the past.
- Any pre-formed team, provided that the members have not worked on their USPF hackathon submission together in the past
The Challenge is NOT open to:
- Employees, and relatives of USPF, IDEA Nigeria, Growing Business Foundation, Federal Ministry of Communications Technology,Strategy and Execution, Nigeria Communications Commission and any other partners at the hackathon.
- Any team planning to submit solutions/technologies that they had previously worked on together in whole or in part
The Challenge
The challenge is for teams of people to build prototypes of applications, technologies, tools, services or any other kind of innovation within a 48-hour period between Friday evening of September 18 and Sunday evening (September 20). The following challenges have been set for the hackathon:
- Any solution or technology that could extend telecoms services and connectivity into unserved and underserved areas of Nigeria.
- Visualisation & Natural Language Interface software for the access gap data and other large data sets. Spatial data infrastructure.
- Alternative last-mile technologies that provide telephony, broadband, and any other kind of connectivity
- Decision support and network-optimisation software that help Telecom carriers, and other companies to plan their expansion
- Mobile and electronic payment solutions for financial inclusion that work in areas unserved by telecoms.
- Prototype of a web-based data marketplace that allows for natural language search and easy visualization of data (sponsored by iDEA. Special Prize)
- Business models that can bring commercial viability to existing USPF pilot projects, and other rural connectivity projects
- GPS based information services.
Solutions worked on at the hackathon should have commercial sustainability and should provide the same services to underserved and unserved areas, as are available in served areas. These include, connectivity, entertainment, information, resources and solutions that will improve ICT access.
It is expected that prototypes presented at the hackathon will be relevant to various economic sectors, especially, education, health,agriculture, and infrastructure. Participating teams should be mindful of potential customers when developing their prototypes. Such customers could include governments, USPF, Telcos, Farmers, Banks, Society and other groups and entities.
Prizes
- 1st prize – N1 million naira + acceptance into incubation program
- 2nd prize -N750, 000 naira + acceptance into incubation program
- 3rd prize – N500, 000 naira + acceptance into incubation program
The prizes, disbursed by iDEA’s incubation programme on behalf of USPF, will enable startups continue developing their prototypes towards a full launch.
How to Enter
Visit uspfhackathon.org to register and download guidelines for participation. You do not need to submit an idea to participate in the Hackathon however you are free to do so if so inclined. After registration, you will receive an email confirming your participation.
Join the conversation using #USPFhack on twitter
For more information visit USPF Hackathon or e-mail [email protected]
