The jury for the fourth edition of the Africa App Challenge has delivered its first verdict. The ten selected entries come from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.
Launched on July 8, the fourth edition of the RFI Africa App Challenge
is now in its second stage. This year's idea is to imagine a digital service that will contribute to a smart African city that serves everyone. More than 400 projects were received, and ten were selected to continue the adventure.
The finalists are invited to refine their projects in the hope of being among the three winners who will come to Dakar to appear before the jury in December. The overall winner will then be announced.
Creativity and relevance
For Edem d'Almeida, winner of the International Francophonie Prize for Youth and Green Jobs, co-founder of Africa Global Recycling (AGR) and member of the jury, "Candidates must go beyond the idea. It's not enough to just write about it. You have to specify the challenges and social impact of your project. "
As for Emmanuelle Bastide, presenter of the program 7 milliards de voisins on RFI and president of the jury, "There is a good understanding of the problems and needs, but not always a good response in terms of efficiency and frugality. Several projects were very interesting, but too complex from a technological point of view. For the populations that will use them, digital technology can be understood in a very simple way."
The selected projects are as follows:
- Ahiwaaa – Hamed Grambout and (Ivory Coast)
Ahiwaaa is a form of "uberization" of the delivery sector. It brings together couriers/delivery drivers and all service requests on a single platform.
- Coliba – Yaya Kone (Ivory Coast)
Coliba is a social enterprise specializing in the collection and recycling of plastic waste using a web, mobile, and SMS platform that connects households and businesses producing plastic waste with affiliated collectors.
- Daba'Go – Jérémie Perales (Morocco)
Daba'Go is an app that, when you enter a starting point and destination, provides optimal routes combining train, taxi, tram, walking, and bus according to criteria that each user can select: cost, duration, maximum number of connections, refusal to use certain types of transport.
- E-Bus – Ndeye Sira Thiam (Senegal)
E-bus is an app that allows bus users to pay for their tickets using their smartphones. The ticket information is presented in the form of an encrypted QR code that the ticket inspector can scan for verification.
- LINEUP – Vladimir Wendkuuni Régis Sawadogo (Burkina Faso)
LINEUP is a mobile app that facilitates queue management in public services (hospitals, public services, etc.) and private services (banks, telecom services, etc.) in the country.
- Mon Artisan – Kevin Sesse (Ivory Coast)
Mon Artisan is a web and mobile platform for on-demand skills related to trades such as plumbing, electricity, carpentry, etc.
- Smart Box – Flaubert Kame Dime (Cameroon)
Smart Box is an application designed to solve the problem of addressing in Africa.
- Green Electricity – Nadia Hillary Dassi (Cameroon)
Green Electricity is a mobile app that enables people to produce green energy from their household waste.
- Niaman To – Nouh Aly Barry (Mali)
Niaman To is a waste management app that will enable rapid removal of household waste to prevent illegal dumping in neighborhoods of large African cities.
- Smart Boda – Bahati Christian (DRC)
Smart Boda is a mobile app similar to Uber and Taxify, geared towards "motorcycle taxis."
The jury for this first selection is composed of Emmanuelle Bastide, journalist at RFI and host of the program 7 milliards de voisins (7 Billion Neighbors); Carole Henry, Director of Innovation and Digital for Engie Africa; Edem d'Almeida, winner of the International Francophonie Prize for Youth and Green Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Africa Global Recycling (AGR); Sougrinoma Kisito from Ouagalab; Florent Youzan from Société Générale's Innovation Lab, based in Dakar; Fabrice Piofret from French Tech Abidjan; Médard Agbayazon, founder of BloLab in Benin; and Gérard Wolf, International Sustainable Cities Coordinator for the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
The winner will receive a grant of €15,000 to develop their project.
Emmanuelle Bastide will devote a special program to smart cities in Africa on the occasion of the grand finale, which will take place in Dakar.
Press release