BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
EZULWINI – First world solutions.
These is what the finalists of the Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Challenge presented in the past two days of the finals.
The 15 shortlisted startups began presenting to the panel of judges yesterday, completing the final presentations today at the Royal Villas at Ezulwini.
Speaking about the Innovation Challenge, one of the finalists, Maphila Kunene of Nodesev, said that the presentations were not too difficult.
“The questions from the judges were not as complex as I thought, so I was happy about the challenge,” said Maphila.
“The competition was fair, the guidelines were straightforward, and the criteria was clear on what they want. All we had to do was to follow the guidelines of the competition and criteria, so may the best team win,” added Maphila’s teammate, Thobeka Dlamini.
The shortlisted startups include Techno Friends Foundation, Technology Outlook, Lab-Zi Technologies, Nodesev, and Wiseman under the ICT for Education category. Shortlisted under the ICT for Agriculture category was Enactus UNESWA Luyengo, Quiri Agritech, Buciko Codes, Mlimi AI, and Delisa Mthethwa. Presenting under ICT Related Technologies and applications was Digimage, Bekela, Simple Source, Red Apple Technologies, and Jonathan Cyber.
The Innovation Challenge entries were shortlisted to the top 15 finalists from over 40 entries. Today was the last phase of the competition, in which the top 3 winners will be selected to share in the prize money E230,000.
