Those “What?” moments are becoming the daily norm in Africa following the creation of innovative solutions that tackle global inequality and crisis. Most tech startups in the country are for business albeit the imbalanced economic situation. The need to develop apps and websites for social good is inevitable since Africa has many underdeveloped countries. Somebody said that technology alone is never the solution. Technology by itself is confusing, breaks down, wears out, and provides little humanitarian relief.
Game Jam competition hosted by a consortium of five organizations; iHub, Upande, Deltares, FloodCom and The Barn is set to recognize some of the issues affecting Kenyans. The Game Jam is a 48-hour competition where participants work in teams to compete in developing serious games that address water, sanitation and hygiene challenges and issues. From the competition three best teams will receive cash prizes (each 2000 Euros/approx. Ksh. 220,000) and additional mentorship and support for a couple of months to enable them develop their innovations to market.
The competition will take place on Friday, 30th September (from 5:30pm) through to Sunday 2nd October (5:10pm)
Other social good innovations
Just the other day techies started an initiative dubbed Adaptoys; the project adapts popular toys like remote-control cars and pitching machines, to allow people with physical disabilities to play with their families. They use voice activation systems, motion sensors and sip-and-puff assistive technology, to allow users with paralysis to control machines for a more active role in gameplay.
Last week, Mashable in collaboration with United Nations held a Social Good Summit which trended under the tag 2030NOW. The summit examined the impact of technology and new media on social good initiatives around the world. During the Social Good Summit, global citizens around the world unite to unlock the potential of technology to make the world a better place.
Register here