Author: deejaynick20

Our Reporter.

After an intense and knowledge-packed week, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon, culminated in to the Women in FinTech Summit on the 16th of September.

The Women in FinTech Summit was characterized by colour and pomp as the top six teams were announced and rewarded. Even so, all the 20 Teams got their fair share of the collective USD 10,000 reward prizes.   

While presiding over the Summit, Owek. Hon. Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, the Minister of State for ICT noted that the Women in FinTech Hackathon is a noble idea that uplifts women and also fosters overall country development.

“We are happy that HiPipo and partners are exploring women’s formal and informal income-generating opportunities that add value to women’s lives and livelihoods using digital solutions. I thank HiPipo for applying a gender lens across all its projects and driving stakeholder influence to advance women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. To my daughters that have completed this program, I applaud you and thank you for your commitment. Please use this knowledge to uplift even more women,” Nabbosa said.

The Hackathon had a total of 20 women-led and women-dominated teams. Team Elevation was declared the overall winner and took home a cash prize of UGX 4,000,000 thanks to its product named Kutayarisha; which is a web-based platform that provides maternity services and products to pregnant women in Urban-rural communities with need to have timely and reliable access to maternity care.

 Academic Personal Assistant (APA), Oliwa Events, and Go Green came second, third, and four respectively while both Lands Resource and Insure Wallet tied at the fifth spot.

Prof. Maggie Kigozi, who was the Hackathon Chief Mentor advised the young developers to use the opportunity presented to them to transform and improve the lives of their communities.

“At an individual level, I am always ready and willing to help people attain success. If there is one advise I would give all of you today, it is pull up your sister. Please pull up your sister. Do not go alone because there is no much point. You will not go very far if you go alone,” Kigozi said. 

The Women in FinTech Hackathon and Summit were organized by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation. The Summit had several thematic panel discussions and speeches.

“Leadership is the ability to see the grey areas and hear the unspoken words. When I talk about this I am asking you to check yourself and ask yourself that as a woman who wants to serve my nation, where do I want to play? Do I want a leadership role, a regulators’ role, innovator’s role, an investor’s role, or a consumer’s role?”, Princess Shamirah Kimbugwe, Pivot Payments Limited the founder and managing director said in her keynote address, adding;

“There is no question as to if a woman is a worthy player in the FinTech industry. There is just a question of where the woman should play in the value chain. There are a lot of opportunities for Women in FinTech. As a woman player, you have a whole list of opportunities that you can tap in to.”

On her part, Damali Ssali, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) chief of programmes and project officer noted that as a way of curbing high transactional costs in the financial technology industry, PSFU is working with partners, particularly HiPipo and Gates Foundation to implement the Pearl of Africa Instant and Inclusive Payment Switch.

Our Reporter.

Day three of the ongoing Women in FinTech Hackathon was action-packed, with participants working on their products’ MVP phase one.

In products’ development, MVP stands for a minimum viable product. According to ProductPlan, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. The MVP is a critical milestone in the product development eco-system.

Minus the MVP, the participants were also introduced to Mojaloop Open Source Software.

According to Sam Kummary, one of the developers of Mojaloop, this software was designed to provide a reference model for payment interoperability. It can be used to overcome barriers that have slowed the spread of digital financial services.

In his presentation, Kummary took the teams through how developers and innovators can freely use the Mojaloop core code, join the community, and build inclusive, real-time payment systems to help support economies. He shared in-depth insights on the Mojaloop scheme, hub and platform and the roles that each play.

“Mojaloop can be used to create interoperable payment solutions in areas such as person-to-person transfers, payroll, and other bulk payments, account management and fraud monitoring,” Kummary said.

On his part, Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted that innovators can use Mojaloop to develop secure and interoperable payment systems that are acceptable globally.

“Payments Schemes around the world are in the process of implementing or considering implementation, of Mojaloop-based interoperable payments systems. Women in FinTech Innovators can use Mojaloop open-source software to support financial services companies, government regulators, and others taking on the challenges of interoperability and financial inclusion,” Kawooya said.

Still on Day 3, the teams were mentored on Product Management. This session was delivered by Mercy Angela Nantongo, the EzyAgric Product Manager.

Nantongo noted that Product Management is a continuous process that ensures that both the product owners and customers get the best results possible.

“Product Management is important as it is the first interaction with customers before any issues arise. It plays a key role in product marketing at initiation, before you build, while building the product, and after you complete the product. Product Management ensures that you are on top of the market trends. It ensures that your customers get the best quality of your product,” Nantongo said.

Organized by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon has brought together 20 women-led teams this year. The week-long Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate into the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 16^th September at Mestil Hotel, Kampala; where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. The best teams will also automatically qualify for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.

Our Reporter.

Day Two of the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon concluded with Teams completing their Solution and Prototype designs.

According to Boston Technology, a Solution Design is the first step towards the eventual physical deployment of any solution. It is a visual blueprint for what needs to be built out. On the other hand, a prototype design is an early sample or a visual model of a product created to test a concept or process.

With these two tasks completed, the teams are all optimistic that they will be able to each deliver a minimum viable product – MVP at the end of the hackathon.

According to the HiPipo CEO, Innocent Kawooya, the Women in Fintech Hackathon doesn’t only address the gender diversity challenge in the technology industry but also empowers women with the right skills and tools to think, design, innovate and transform societies.

“Seeing the teams getting down to serious work is a great deal for us because it shows how far we have come; from having a dream, putting it on paper as an idea and now executing it. The same process is what all innovators must go through to actualize their products,” Kawooya said, adding;

“The facilitators and mentors in this hackathon are equipping participants with the required technology skills and also introducing them to real life realities that they must overcome if they are to succeed.”

Now in its third edition, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s commitment towards empowering women with the required digital and financial inclusion skills so that they can go out there; innovate, prosper, earn and develop their families and communities.  This year’s edition has gathered 20 Women-led teams of between two to four members each.

It is presented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation.

Minus the ‘FinTech’ technical work that the hackathon is about, the participants were on day two mentored by Cynthia Mpanga, a renowned public relations practitioner and corporate affairs manager at Standard Chartered Bank, Uganda. Her mentorship was focused on personal branding, public relations, and communication.

The week-long #WomeninFinTech Hackathon will culminate into the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 16^th September at Mestil Hotel, Kampala; where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. The best teams will also automatically qualify for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.