City calls for digital Covid-19 solutions

Johannesburg – The City of Joburg’s Smart City Office, in collaboration with Tshimologong Innovation Precinct, invites proposals for smart city innovative solutions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement the City said the aim of the Smart City Innovation Challenge is to find and develop digital technology solutions that respond to urban and community challenges faced by the City in the new normal resulting from Covid-19.

“The solutions should either save lives or support livelihoods. Saving lives solutions are those that will enable detection, tracking, and prediction of the spread of the virus, enhance communication and improve healthcare and security in the city. Supporting livelihood solutions help the City and its citizens reduce vulnerability, improve food security, and uphold human dignity. These are solutions that may additionally enable the city citizens to be entrepreneurial and find new ways to sustain themselves,” the City added.

Smart City Office leader Lawrence Boya said the call is an opportunity for innovators to bring forward solutions to help respond in a smarter way to challenges posed by Covid-19. “We also hope to use this initiative to help to grow innovation in Joburg; and thus make Joburg the leading African city of innovation.”

The city said the two winning applications will be taken into a rapid development and prototype launching process through a virtual boot camp and prototyping grant of R100 000 each. “This will be followed by opportunity for further funding to take at least one solution into implementation. This will be a collaborative effort between start-ups, corporate companies, investors, hubs, makerspaces, and the government brought to you by the City of Joburg’s Smart City Office.”

For more visit https://www.joburg.org.za/Pages/Campaigns/Joburg%20Enterprises%20-2020.aspx