WhereIsMyTransport, Facebook to run hackathon series in five African cities

SA mobility startup WhereIsMyTransport has partnered with Facebook for Developers to tomorrow host the the Connect Hackathon Series in five cities across the continent.

In a press release today, WhereIsMyTransport said the first event is set to take place at the Global Entepreneurship Network’s 22 on Sloane campus in Johannesburg from tomorrow (19 January) until Sunday.

Hosted across four additional cities including Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Kigali and Nairobi, the Connect series will bring together diverse developers and startups looking to build innovative location-aware applications to address the challenges and opportunities of moving people and goods in the region’s cities.

The first Connect Hackathon Series event is set to take place from 19 to 22 January in five African cities said WhereIsMyTransport

In Johannesburg, Facebook and WhereIsMyTransport will provide access and expertise to help participants build mobile solutions that combine the Facebook Places Graph API and the WhereIsMyTransport Public Transport API.

In all the cities across the region, the CONNECT series will partner with local hubs of innovation, like 22 on Sloane, and local Developer Circles from Facebook – the company’s program to support communities of people passionate about technology, sharing ideas, learning, and collaborating.

The winning team will be awarded $1000 USD, with second and third place winners provided with $500 each in Facebook advertising credits. Additionally, all three teams will be provided with a year’s worth of free access to the WhereIsMyTransport Public Transport API.

Commenting on the Connect Hackathon series, Marsh Reddy, Platform Evangelist from WhereIsMyTransport said: “I think we have put together something really special for the Gauteng. Digitalising public transport routes in the region allow for local talent to build solutions that help citizens directly. We’re looking forward to seeing what gets built.”