Hack the Normal: From Africa for Africa

Hack the Normal: From Africa for Africa

Increasing temperatures and sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and other extreme weather conditions are threatening human health and safety, food and water security and socio-economic development in Africa, according to a new report.

The State of the Climate in Africa 2019 report, a multi-agency publication coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), provides a snapshot of recent climate trends and their economic impacts as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems in vulnerable sectors like agriculture.

As the youngest demographic continent, Africa’s population is also one of the fastest growing in the world. This is posing many challenges, particularly concerning the provision of basic nutritional needs, access to drinkable water and a consistent electricity supply in areas with poor infrastructure.

“Climate change is having a growing impact on the African continent, hitting the most vulnerable hardest and contributing to food insecurity, population displacement and stress on water resources. In recent months we have seen devastating floods, an invasion of desert locusts and we now face the looming spectre of drought because of a La Niña event. The human and economic toll has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic” says WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

The disparity between the continent’s potential and what it provides for its people is a point to be highlighted. What else can be done to ensure the sustainability of the continent in the post-pandemic era?

Enter, Hack the Normal

We asked the same question in this year’s online hackathon; our way of finding answers to post-pandemic challenges. The Hack the Normal: From Africa to Africa online hackathon between March 5th and 7th of this year sought to inspire and facilitate the development of new ideas, products and projects that aim to make people's lives easier.

More than 1000 applicants, 110 partners and 294 coaches & mentors from different countries came together to tackle the challenges of adapting to change by developing new strategies and transforming individuals, organizations, and the planet.

All the participants have sought to answer a single question: “How might we leverage technology to create a positive impact towards sustainable living and economic development in Africa?” from three different angles: Sustainable Living, Healthy Living and Social Living.

New Ways to Ensure Sustainability in the World’s Youngest Continent

People from across multiple disciplines came together under the leadership of Defy to innovate new ways to ensure the sustainability of trade, natural resources and life in Africa.

The hackathon focused on the individual, social and material impacts of a sustainable approach to energy, water, food and trade. It aimed to develop solutions by establishing a fertile and digital environment that brings together multiple disciplines such as design, technology, sociology, psychology, human resources, management and communications.

Entrepreneurs working to build a sustainable ecosystem in Africa needed to develop new products, services and business models centered on three major themes: financial solutions, sustainable living and healthy living.

The finalists’ projects sought to answer the following questions: “How can we design new services and products to improve financial inclusion and liquidity in the African region?”, “How can we build a more sustainable future for the average African household and the planet as a whole?” and “How can we have a positive impact on maintaining healthy and safe living conditions in African homes?”.

The online hackathon received a lot of positive feedback. A healthy food delivery service that offers personalized nutrition solutions, an app that allows patients to give feedback on their hospital experiences, which is then used to detect discrimination trends by AI, and a Blockchain-based solution that promotes fast trade without the use of third parties are just a few of the finalists’ projects.

Finalist Projects

The hackathon demonstrated that collaboration and the exchange of new ideas can be used to hack “the new normal”. All teams benefited from the two-and-a-half days of trainings, webinars and mentorship. Although the winner teams earnt the poc budget to develop their projects, additional support will be given to as many projects as possible.

Following the hackathon, selected project teams will have the opportunity to work with Defy on further developing their projects; this includes promotion support for access to customers through Sub-Saharan African channels, access to sales opportunities, investment networks, acceleration and incubation programs and access to users and the ecosystem in general.