KCA University Innovation Week Hackathon

Theme: Leveraging on Academia – Industry linkages to foster sustainable innovations
30th October - 3rd November

Innovators and Creative minds are invited to participate in the Empowering Entrepreneurs Hackathon, a dynamic event aimed at driving innovation, fostering mentorship, and creating impactful solutions to accelerate business growth.
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HACKATHON
Hackathon Call - PDF Version

About the Hackathon

KCA University in partnership with the Co-Production of Youth Entrepreneurship in Kenya Project (COPYEK) is organizing an Innovation week and Industry Summit. Innovators and Creative minds are invited to participate in the Empowering Entrepreneurs Hackathon, a dynamic event aimed at driving innovation, fostering mentorship, and creating impactful solutions to accelerate business growth. This hackathon is an excellent opportunity for all aspiring and established innovators and entrepreneurs to come together, collaborate, and build innovative solutions to address critical challenges faced in the business space.

Be part of the team

Objective

The Hackathon Aims to Foster Innovation by Encouraging participants to think creatively and develop innovative solutions that address key challenges faced by entrepreneurs in today’s competitive landscape.

Project Focus Areas

To enable achieve our objectives, the applicants are to focus their projects on:

Mentorship in Entrepreneurship:

  • Develop innovative solutions to bridge the gap between experienced entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners.
  • Design platforms or tools that facilitate mentorship connections and knowledge sharing.
  • Create strategies to provide personalized guidance and support for startup ventures.


Marketing for Small Businesses:

  • Devise cutting-edge marketing solutions to help small businesses reach their target audiences effectively.
  • Explore creative ways to enhance digital marketing, social media presence, and customer engagement.
  • Develop tools for analyzing marketing data and generating actionable insights.


Networking in the Business Space:

  • Innovate platforms or apps that foster meaningful networking opportunities among entrepreneurs.
  • Design solutions to connect entrepreneurs with potential partners, investors, and collaborators.
  • Explore ways to facilitate knowledge exchange and community building within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Who should apply?

  1. Young innovators aged between 18 years and 34 years.
  2. Must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program in a Kenyan University.
  3. Each team need to have members with the technical skills needed to implement the suggested innovative idea.

Application Process

  1. Participants can apply by submitting a concept note reflecting their proposed solution for any of the focus areas.
  2. Concept note should not exceed two pages (Font – Times New Roman, Font Size – 12, Spacing (Single Space) excluding the cover page. The concept note should include: –
    • Title of the Project and Focus Area addressed. (On the Cover Page)
    • Introduction.
    • Background.
    • Proposed Objectives.
    • Development Methodology (Based on the Software development life Cycle and technologies to be used).
    • Programming skills of the team members.
    • Previous Experience.
    • Links to previous developed work.
  3. Submit your concept note online (Click to Submit).
  4. Deadline for submission: 30th September 2023.

What to expect

  1. Stand a chance to win exciting awards and recognition for innovative solutions.
    • 1st Prize – KES 20,000
    • 2nd Prize – KES 15,000
    • 3rd Prize – KES 10,000
  2. Gain valuable mentorship and guidance from experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts.
  3. Receive certificates of participation for all participants.
  4. Network with fellow entrepreneurs, potential investors, and industry leaders.
  5. Access post-hackathon support and follow-up opportunities.
  6. Winning teams to be adopted in the KCA University Innovation Hub.

Selection Criteria

  1. Submissions will be evaluated based on relevance to the themes and key focus areas.
  2. Innovative and practical solutions will be given priority.
  3. Feasibility and scalability of the proposed ideas will also be considered.

Event Schedule

  1. Deadline for Submission: September 30th, 2023
  2. Shortlisted Applicants Notification: October 4th, 2023
  3. Orientation Webinar: October 6th, 2023
  4. Pre-Event Webinars/Workshops: From October 9th, 2023
  5. Pitching Date: November 2nd, 2023
  6. Awards Ceremony: November 3rd, 2023
Contact

For any inquiries please email

iil@kcau.ac.ke

#EmpoweringEntrepreneurs #InnovateForGrowth #Hackathon2023

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