Arnold MUGAGA, of SeatPack, an education innovation was declared the winner of the 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge in UGANDA.
The SeatPack, is a schoolbag that performs the duties of a desk, by turning into a chair with a writing pad.
It is built for school children between ages 5 and 13 years whose classrooms have no furniture (due to under-facilitation/post-conflict/disaster).
Sylvia KYOMUHENDO’s Infants’ Health Foundation came second. The innovation uses mobile nurses to avail free, quality and timely home based maternal-child healthcare services to mothers in remote villages of Uganda throughout pregnancy stages who face difficulties to reach out to health facilities.
SWAPafrica, a trade and commerce innovation by Vicent NEMEYIMANA finished in number three.
SWAPafrica is an online platform that allows all users (individuals and businesses) to swap, exchange or share resources like physical goods, skills, and services among themselves without necessarily using the money. It is modernized online barter trade!
The three young entrepreneurs received financial support of up to UGX 150 Million for the first prize to develop their project.
They will also receive personalized support and coaching from Makerere University Business School, Innovation village and Uganda Industrial Research Institute and a communications campaign to publicize their project.
The winner of the Top Female Entrepreneur award, a new addition to the 2018-2019 Challenge to support women in business, was Sylvia Kyomuhendo of Infants’ Health Foundation.
The 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge, held simultaneously in 55 countries — 37 of which are in Africa, 11 in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, 4 in the Americas, and 3 in Europe — reaffirms Total’s commitment to social and economic development in host countries worldwide.
By helping innovative young entrepreneurs to realize their projects, the Challenge strengthens the local social fabric.
The second Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge received nearly 50,000 entries, of which more than 15,000 were fully completed. In all, 825 finalists presented their projects to a jury of experts, with 165 winning prizes.
The first prize winner in each country will see their project presented to the international grand juries that will pick the six Grand Winners from all 55 countries.
BY PAUL TENTENA
