#Hack.Jozi: 10 projects looking to bring innovative change to SA’s biggest city

#Hack.Jozi, the startup bootcamp aimed at rewarding innovative Joburg-based technology entrepreneurs, has announced its 10 finalists.

Whittled down from a field of 100 shortlisted entrepreneurs (themselves drawn from more than 400 entries), the 10 finalists are in the running for more than R5-million in prizes.

Now in its second year, #Hack.Jozi is a joint initiative between City of Johannesburg and the JCSE (Joburg Centre for Software Engineering) at Wits University and looks to encourage ideas that could have a positive impact on the city.

The top one hundred entrants, all startup entrepreneurs, attended a special entrepreneurship and business training boot camp geared to helping them develop their great digital ideas into possible business opportunities. The top 20 selected received additional business mentorship.

“The 2016 shortlist of ten finalists is an impressive list of young people with new and innovative ideas in the digital arena,” says Ravi Naidoo, executive director for Economic Development for the City of Johannesburg. After a rigorous process that has been playing out over the past six weeks, we now have ten superb businesses which have fought through three rounds of the competition and have been judged on the technical feasibility of their venture, scalability and the wow-factor.”

“We have touched more than 100 entrepreneurs through this challenge. A demo day will be held on Friday, 13 May when all ten tech-preneurs will present their ideas that they have thrashed out with their peers and mentors during the course of the challenge.”

“We are also pleased to see that other government agencies such as the City of Cape Town and the Department of Water and Sanitation have taken a cue from the City of Joburg to embrace the digital era in their environments and encourage technology innovation as a way to address relevant problems and promote entrepreneurship.”

The 10 final startups cover a diverse field of interests, ranging from online marketplaces to on-demand laundry services and low-cost robotics kits. The full top 10 can be found below:

Tuta-Me

A mobile application that looks to connect tutors with students for tutoring services.

TimeWize Parental Control

A tool for parents to address screen-time issues with their children and their Android devices.

Mensch

An online marketplace where the demand for sound, pragmatic and sustainable advice by businesses is matched to the supply of high quality business experts from South Africa’s top business schools and business consultancies.

LCERT

LCERT (Low Cost Educational Robotics Toy) Kit, which includes hardware, software and activities.

Spotless

A pickup and drop-off of laundry service that ensures that clothes are cleaned and dry-cleaned to the highest standards.

Advicement

Building an online platform which aims to automate the functions of a traditional financial advisor.

DUEPROP

An integrated online due-diligence portal, available on multiple platforms and designed for all property sector stakeholders.

eSubmit

An online platform on which building plans and other related documentation can be uploaded and/or downloaded for the purposes of obtaining building approval from local authorities.

Gradrr

This system prepares and automatically marks multiple choice questions. Advanced features are being offered to educational institutions to analyse and report on the information.

TechnoVera

Smart lockers that reduce the average waiting time for patients collecting chronic medication at primary healthcare collection facilities.

The top 10 will enjoy a one-year free membership of the well-known ICT Hub in Braamfontein, which is a Wits University initiative under the leadership of Professor Barry Dwolatzky.

The winning startup will receive R1 million and two runners up which will win R350 000 each. All three will be supported by a business mentor who will guide them on how best to use the prize money and further develop their idea into a successful profitable enterprise.