The African Development Bank is hosting an online competition for companies as part of an effort to stimulate ideas that can be used to develop solutions to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 72-hour online #AfricaVsVirus Challenge kicks off on April 16 and is open to entrepreneurs, companies, civil society organisations and governments that have bankable solutions or ventures to address the pandemic.
According to Tapera Muzira, coordinator of the African Development Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy, the top pitches will be eligible to win thousands of dollars’ worth of financial, technical and skills-learning support to advance their implementation.
“Covid-19’s impact on the global economy is pushing millions of people, especially women and young people, into unemployment, underemployment and working poverty. Part of our response is the #AfricaVsVirus Challenge,” said Muzira. “This online challenge will channel creativity and innovation to real-life solutions that mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on health, the economy, SMEs and jobs.”
The #AfricaVsVirus Challenge opens on Thursday and runs non-stop through to Sunday. Entrants can choose to submit ideas under one of the following sectors: public health and epidemiology; vulnerable populations; businesses and economy; community; education; entertainment; government support; environment and energy; and food security.
Muzira said an expert panel would select the 20 best solutions submitted to participate in the final round after which three winners would be chosen.
