ZICTA Digest
THIS week’s column is dedicated to create awareness about the Innovators’ Challenge which ZICTA will hold during the upcoming ICT business forum scheduled to take place from October 7 to 8, 2015.
The Government is cognisant of the fact that without innovation there is no future and no progress for a nation. As the ICT Sector regulator, Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has identified innovation as the key driver to the success of the ICT sector and all other interrelated sectors of the economy.
The theme for this years’ ICT business forum is INNOVATE – CREATE – THRIVE which aims to demonstrate the need to take innovative ideas from concepts and translate them into real world solutions to real world problems that will go a long way towards improving lives not only in Zambia, but the world over.
The Authority was therefore compelled to establish the Innovators Challenge as a way of championing the cause and bringing the theme of this year’s ICT business forum to life.
The Challenge
Innovators will be required to develop innovative solutions under any of the categories below that make use of ICT platforms to solve real social and economic challenges in various sectors of the economy, or aspects of day to day life.
Innovative solutions should specifically address challenges under the following:
• Efficient use of energy
• Mitigating the effects of climate change
• Disaster Management
• Traffic management
• Lifestyle, health and education
• Agriculture and conservation farming
The innovative solutions should be commercially viable and should be at one of the following stages:
• Fully developed conceptual stage
• Development stage
• Start-up phase
Participants in this innovators challenge will be competing for the following:
Grand Prize
• Seed funding of ZMK15,000.
• A brand new HP Pro-touch Laptop besides the seed.
• Fully sponsored trip to Barcelona, Spain to attend the GSMA Mobile World Congress in 2016
First Runners Up
• Seed funding of ZMK10,000.
• A brand new HP Pro-touch Laptop.
First Runners Up
• Seed funding of ZMK5,000.
• A brand new HP Pro-touch Laptop.
Benefits for Participants
• Certificates of Participation to all team members as well as individual participants.
• Opportunity to showcase your innovation in front of industry leaders, chief executives and policy makers from the ICT Industry.
• Opportunity to interact with other application designers and customers.
Rules of Participation
Participants in their submission of their innovative challenge concept are required to clearly indicate the following:
• What problem you are trying to solve, and why it is important to solving economic and developmental problems in the identified sector.
• What your app will do and how people will interact with it.
• On which platform shall users be able to access the app?
Who can take part?
• THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE to participate in this innovative challenge contest.
• This contest is open to all undergraduate, post graduate students from universities and colleges, as well as upcoming entrepreneurs in the ICT sector across the country.
• A team must comprise a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 4 persons
• A student applicant cannot be a part of multiple teams in order to compete in the challenge
• See terms and conditions for further information on eligibility
How Do You Apply?
• Submit an on-line proposal at the website www.zicta.zm/innovative-challenge-Zambia-proposal
• All proposals will be acknowledged
• The closing date for submissions is Friday September 25, 2015 at 17:00 hours.