by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – A KENYAN solution aiming to improve financial wellness among corporates and individuals has won the grand prize at the Huawei Developers Competition (HDC).
Spark Money, the financial product built by wealth management startup Dvara, beat off rival teams from Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania.
All six finalists received cash prizes and Huawei devices.
Spark Money got US$10 000 as well as a Huawei MatePad for each team member.
Team NAC from Tanzania clinched second place along with an $8 000 prize.
South African teams – Astel Systems, Innovo Networks and Malcam Solutions -collectively placed third with each team winning $5 000 and a Huawei Watch Fit for team members.
Team Maverick from Nigeria won the Cloud Ace Award and a $2 000 prize.
HDC is one of Huawei’s global flagship events for ICT development and innovation.
Themed Spark Infinity, this year’s competition encouraged African cloud developers to find novel solutions to real problems.
More than 130 teams participated in the first phase which ran for four months and drew from enterprises, college students and independent developers from across the Southern Africa region.
“HDC encourages developers to give full play to their imagination and innovative spirit, by using ICT technologies to solve practical problems and create unlimited value,” Roc Bai, Vice President of Huawei Cloud Southern Africa, said.
The executive was speaking at the awards event held at Huawei’s Johannesburg campus.
“We were very impressed by the caliber of entries and all six teams who reached the final phase delivered outstanding projects, each worthy in their own merit,” Bai said.
Spark Money’s Mfadhili Gitau described the competition as a life changing opportunity.
The innovator believes through such initiatives and competitions, African developers have the opportunity and support to create and innovate the right solutions for problems faced by the continent.
“This could even help our continent become a technology hub serving the rest of the world,” Gitau said.
A panel of judges which included Emeritus Professor at the University of Witwatersrand, Barry Dwolatzky, and GM of MTN’s B2B Technology Centre of Excellence, Vaughn Naidoo, oversaw the final round of the competition.
“This competition is an important opportunity for African developers and students to show what they are capable of and to benchmark their innovative talents against the best in the world,” Naiddo said.
Menahwile, Huawei Cloud Southern Africa Chief Technology Officer, Harrison Li, delivered a commitment to provide African developers with powerful ICT software and hardware platforms.
“We encourage developers to use their imagination and innovate,” Li said.
“We will apply our achievements together to local industries such as education, agriculture, and public utilities to promote Africa’s digital transformation,” he said,” Li assured.
– CAJ News