eBusiness Weekly
Michael Tome Business Reporter
FINANCIERS and institutions should strive to invest and fund local technopreneurs in order to prop up the country’s ICT sector and move away from being a supermarket economy for imported ICT products and services, Information Communication and Technologies Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere has said.
He said this while launching the fifth edition of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe’s (POTRAZ) hackathon held in Mutare on Friday.
Launched by Potraz in 2018, the hackathon sought to award and offer to fund ICT enthusiasts and technopreneurs with innovations bent on improving the country’s economic and social standing.
Hackathon is a design sprint-like event often in which computer programmers and other ICT geniuses are involved in software project development.
The program dovetails with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS) blueprint which identifies ICTs and Innovation as strategic pillars and enabler of national development given the cross-cutting nature of ICTs in the economy.
Addressing participants at the occasion Minister Muswere said more effort and resources should be directed towards the improvement of the digital economy through human capital development of players in the sector.
“What is it that we can do to ensure that this is not a supermarket economy for ICT products and services?… we have to invest, fund research and development in the realm of ICTs to ensure that we start manufacturing our own gadgets and softwares so that we reduce the import bill on ICT equipment and licensing into the country.
“To accelerate this innovation drive, we need to groom experts that will deliver a digitally connected society in this country,” said Minister Muswere.
“Our major objective is to increase ICT research and development as well as ICT uptake by innovators and research institutions in Zimbabwe. This is achieved through identifying, supporting and capacitating ICT innovators in the country, in order to develop their ideas into bankable solutions for Zimbabwe and the global market,” he added.
The hackathon has grown to accommodate academic and non-academic, institutions of higher learning to allow for the participation of the marginalised in the journey towards the digital economy.
This year’s edition took a step toward addressing gender divide and participation of the disabled.
According to Potraz, 85 percent of the applicants were male while only 15 percent were female while persons with disability contributed five percent of the total number of applicants.
Also addressing participants at the event Potraz Director Genera Dr Gift Machengete said the regulator had set aside funding and more resources to ensure that created innovations will be patented and commercialised as the regulator pushes to develop home grown solutions and development of ICT human capital.
“We need to harness and nurture our own innovative minds and ensure we take International Tech giants head-on. This is why Government, through the ICT sector regulator, POTRAZ, has embarked on programs such as the hackathon, which are aimed at steering Innovation as a way of finding homegrown ICT solutions to our everyday challenges and of course harnessing the full potential of ICTs to national development,” said Dr Machengete.
Pal Smart bench innovation by the PowerAfrika team won the fifth edition’s first prize of $1, 7 million, while Tsimba by Medcard scooped the second prize worth $1, 4 million.
Diabetes Zimbabwe’s invention “Connected Care” scooped the third prize worth $1, 050 million.
Potraz has since indicated that it will be funding existing innovation hubs under the innovation drive to the tune of $813 million and a further $271 million will be churned towards innovation partnership programs across the country.
World over, governments have set up technological hubs and directed meaningful funding platforms for innovators to flourish.
This year’s edition of the POTRAZ hackathon saw 371 valid applicants and over 58 percent of the participants were from Harare province alone, 14 percent from Bulawayo followed by Manicaland at seven percent.
