Alibaba GET Global Challenge:- Alibaba Business School is now accepting entries from young budding entrepreneurs for its 2020 GET Global Challenge (Digital Solutions During and Beyond COVID-19). The deadline for the submission of applications for the Alibaba GET Global Challenge  is 4th May, 2020.

The African Leadership University in collaboration with the Alibaba Business School Global Ecommerce Talent Programme is organizing the Africa edition of the GET Global Challenge 2020.

The Challenge is themed: 

Digital Solutions during COVID-19 and beyond. The Africa edition is a part of the larger Global competition hosted by Alibaba Business School and is taking place in several countries across the world.

The challenge is seeking for innovative digital solutions to support people, businesses and institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Alibaba GET Global Challenge Details.

In 2020, we have all witnessed a disruption to daily life, work and much more due to the spread of the coronavirus across the world. In such times, our world becomes vulnerable and we have to ensure we have solutions that protects everyone or can improve the conditions in which we all exist.

This challenge seeks to inspire and support young people who are especially digital natives to innovate with technology to provide solutions for all walks of life.

These digital solutions can come in any form and be from any field. However, the solutions should promote resilience, inclusion and access to services that people need during times like these.

This in essence is a social innovation challenge. This challenge will take place online/virtually unless otherwise announced.

Eligibility

The challenge is open to young budding entrepreneurs who meet the following criteria:

• 18 to 30 years of age;
• Sign up as teams of 3-5 members, with at least one member that can communicate effectively in English Language;
• Have a new business idea or a running business that has been in operation for less than 1 year;
• Have not received institutional funding of more than USD $100,000 for the current project.

You may also Apply for the

Audi Environmental Foundation Scholarship to attend One Young World Summit 2020 in Munich, Germany.

Benefits

There will be prizes across both regional and global levels including:

• Up to 14,000 USD of business funding;
• A digital economy discovery trip to Alibaba Headquarters in Hangzhou, China;
• Admission to Alibaba GET Talent bank, connected with potential mentors, investors, employers, and business opportunities;
• Special prizes at regional level to be announced.

In addition, participants will get access to:

• Premium digital economy and entrepreneurship education content through online training from Alibaba Business School and from African Leadership University.

Alibaba GET Global Challenge Key Dates.

The competition will proceed through 3 rounds of selection before the global finals. As participants proceed across each round, they will be provided with live-streamed training, coaching and support to develop their businesses.

• Initial Applications and 1st Selection round: April 10, 2020 – May 4, 2020
• Coaching provided by Alibaba GET team and 2nd Selection round: May 9, 2020 – June 5, 2020
• Execution of Business and Regional selection: June 11, 2020 – August 11, 2020
• Regional finals: August 13-15, 2020
• Global Finals: August 17-25, 2020

Alibaba GET Global Challenge Application Process.

The initial applications require basic information as follows:

1. Details of every team member
2. A short description of the problem you are trying to solve
3. A short description of your proposed solution
4. A short statement on why your team is best fit to solve this problem.

Start you Application Here.

Official Website:

For More Information Visit the Official Programme Webpage Here.

2020 Call for Code Global Challenge has expanded its focus to tackle the effects of COVID-19. Technology solutions can help reduce the impact this pandemic has on our daily lives and the world. We have the tools. You have the talent.

You may also get Coronavirus update: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public here.

Now in its third year, the Call for Code initiative is the largest technical challenge of its kind. The 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge asks the world’s developers to build solutions for COVID-19 and climate change. The world is facing unprecedented, interconnected challenges and we believe technology can help.

About the 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge Award: 

COVID-19, which is caused by the novel coronavirus, has revealed the limits of the systems we take for granted in a very short period of time.

Whether it’s the massive increase in demand for information during a time of crisis, educating children when schools are closed, or helping communities best distribute limited resources, technology has a pivotal role to play.

Through Call for Code, you can see your idea deployed by a global partner ecosystem.

Explore all IBM resources related to COVID-19

In addition to Call for Code, IBM is marshaling resources and bringing together the right communities of experts to address the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Clients, governments, scientists, partners, academic institutions, health agencies and IBMers are applying data, knowledge, computing power, and insights to solve difficult problems.

Type: Contest

Eligible Countries: International

You may also apply for the Wiki Loves Africa Photo Contest 2020 – Easy Steps to Apply Here.

Eligibility:

1. Submissions –
   Submissions must use one or more IBM Cloud services or IBM Systems. Use of sponsor or affiliate APIs and open source libraries is also encouraged.
2. Team size –
   Teams of up to five (5) participants, each at least 18 years old, are allowed.
3. Joining teams –
   A participant may not be part of multiple teams.
4. Participation agreement –
   All team members must have accepted the 2020 Participation Agreement at the time they submit to be eligible.
5. Application standards –
   Applications must be new and built for the 2020 competition, but they may use code that was open sourced and publicly available to all other participants as of February 26, 2020.
6. Winners –
   Winning teams will be subject to a code review after submissions close.

Selection Criteria: 

Submissions will be judged equally across 4 primary criteria which evaluate whether the solution solves a real-world problem and uses technology effectively.

• Completeness and transferability: How fully has the idea been implemented? Can it achieve an impact in the field? Can it be transferred elsewhere?
• Effectiveness and efficiency: Does the solution address a high priority area? Does it achieve its goal effectively and efficiently? Can it scale?
• Design and usability: How good is the design, user experience, and ease of use of the solution? How quickly can it be put to use?
• Creativity and innovation: How unique was the approach to solving a long-standing or previously intractable problem?

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award:

Grand Prize

•  $200,000 USD cash prize
•  Invitation to the Call for Code Global Award Announcement
•  Open source project support from The Linux Foundation
•  Opportunity for mentorship and investment in the solution
•  Solution implementation support through Code and Response™

First Runner-up

•  $25,000 USD cash prize
•  Invitation to the Call for Code Global Award Announcement
•  Open source project support from The Linux Foundation

Third and fourth runner up

•  $10,000 USD cash prize
•  Invitation to the Call for Code Global Award Announcement
•  Open source project support from The Linux Foundation

How to Apply: 

Accept the Challenge

• It is important to go through all application requirements in the Award Webpage (see Link below) before applying.

Application Deadline: 27th April 2020.

Official Website:

For More Information Visit the Official Award Webpage Here.

Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2020 for African Start-ups. Winners will receive upto $22,000 in Cash Prizes.

Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2020

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge identifies and partners Fintechs that are ready to scale and provides them with support and access to Ecobank’s 33 African markets so they can grow to become true Pan African Fintech success stories.

The selected finalists participate in the Ecobank Fintech Innovation Fair, with the top 3 finalists winning cash prizes.

All finalists are inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship, which affords them the opportunity to explore deals, integration and commercial partnership with the Ecobank Group.

Ecobank Challenge Eligibility.

• Open to all Fintechs on the African continent.
• Ecobank is looking for products that offer solutions and innovations in the following areas:

  • Digital customer onboarding (consumers, SME/Merchant, Investment Banking)
  • Improve customer experience at branches
  • Improve customer experience online
  • Digitization of the customer journey.

You may also apply for the ALU Patoranking Scholarship Programme 2020 for Undergraduate African Students (Fully-funded).

Ecobank Fintech Challenge Benefits.

Become a finalist; get inducted as an Ecobank Fintech Fellow and stand a chance to explore the following opportunities:

• Once in a lifetime opportunity to pursue integration with Ecobank and potentially launch products in Ecobank’s over 30 markets across Africa.
• The top three winners at the Challenge will be awarded $10,000, $7000, and $5000 cash prizes respectively.
• Start-ups may be selected by Ecobank as local country-level partner in any of Ecobank’s 33 country ecosystem.
• Fellows will be given access to Ecobank’s APIs to test and improve their products for the pan-African market.
• Founders will be inducted as Ecobank Fintech Fellows, granting them access to networking and mentoring opportunities within the Ecobank Group and its vast network of global and African partners.
• The Challenge offers opportunities for Fintechs to potentially integrate with Ecobank’s existing digital offerings.

The existing digital offerings include Ecobank Omni, Ecobank electronic financial supply chain(eFSC), Ecobank Xpress, Ecobank Mobile APP or USSD, MasterPass™ QR, mVISA™ & mCash, etc.

They’d like applicants to pitch how their solutions can add value to these existing Ecobank digital offerings.

See also:

1. Technovation Challenge 2020 for Girls Worldwide ($10,000 prize & Funded trip to San Francisco,USA).

2.  2020 Hult Prize Challenge for high-impact Entrepreneurs (Grand Prize of USD $1Million).

How to Enter Ecobank Fintech Challenge.

What kinds of solutions can I submit?

Teams are to submit applications addressing one or more of the following challenges.

Customer experience

• Digital customer onboarding (consumers, SME/Merchant, Investment Banking).
• improve customer experience at branches.

Credit Scoring

• 360° view on customers and prospects of financial activities
• Digital Lending for SMEs

Ecosystem aggregation

• SME/Merchants onboarding on payment integration
• Niche merchant aggregation
• Provide easy access to non-smart phone users

Internal tools

•  Digital solution to improve performance of sales force
• Agency banking: solutions that enable agents to offer more services

Payments

• Offline Mobile to Mobile payments (Dead Zones)
  Any other relevant product categories.

To Apply for this challenge, simply Click here (APPLY NOW).

Application deadline :not stated.

Official Website:

For More Information Visit the Official Ecobank Challenge Website Here.