SOCIAL impact incubation network Impact Hub Manila (IHM) brings back Impact Hackathon to find innovations for current social challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Innovators, and aspiring change-makers and entrepreneurs from all over the country can now sign up to participate in the week-long online event set to run from August 17 to 21, 2020.
Now that the Philippine economy is in the brink of a recession, this year’s Impact Hackathon is geared towards rebooting the economy through inclusive digital innovations in 5 verticals–climate change, education, food and agriculture, health and wellness, and smart cities.
Partners for each vertical will pose problem statements for the participants to hack, through viable tech solutions. The goal of each participating team in the hackathon is to create minimum viable products (MVPs) by the end of the hackathon week. Winning ideas will be incubated by IHM and its partners who will also support the scaling of the projects to ensure impact and sustainability.
Winners will take home over $100,000 worth of prizes, including access to IHM’s incubation program and global network of experts and entrepreneurs.
Capitalizing on Impact Hub’s global network of mentors, industry leaders, impact-driven entrepreneurs, and change makers, IHM will conduct a series of Learning Sessions. These sessions will equip participants with relevant information for the innovations they will come up with during the hackathon. These will also serve as a platform for rich discussions and network-building among participants, mentors, and partners.
Impact Hackathon will culminate in a festival titled, “2050 Fest” where experts, industry leaders, and collaborators will come together for panel discussions and the announcement of winners. This will start on August 17 with an opening program. The Hackathon proper and Learning Sessions follow on the next day. On August 22 to 23 will be the jury’s deliberation to be followed the next day by “2050 Fest” Culmination Program and announcement of national winners.
Last year’s Impact Hackathon gathered over 80 partners, and 300 mentors and jurors for the 1,700 participants which yielded 186 completed projects. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted an urgent and dire need for sustainable innovations to build a resilient nation.
Through digital solutions and impact-driven entrepreneurship, the program also aims to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that ensure no person and no community are left behind in pursuit of sustainable development. Partners from Impact Hackathon 2019 will be back to support this year’s hackathon along with new collaborators such as the Office of Senator Francis Pangilinan, iProcure, Unifinity, Salesforce, and KMC among others.
