African entries win in ITU contest

Four African entries were among the winners of ITU Telecom’s third annual Young Innovators’ Competition. However, none were from South Africa.

ITU Telecom has announced the winners of its third annual Young Innovators’ Competition. Open to young social entrepreneurs between ages 18 and 26 from around the world, the competition seeks innovative digital solutions in the form of start-ups or initial concepts meeting global developmental challenges. The winners will be heading to ITU Telecom World 2013, the leading networking, solutions showcasing and knowledge-sharing event for the global ICT community in Bangkok, Thailand, 19 – 22 November.

From over 600 entries from 88 countries worldwide, 10 submissions were selected as having the greatest possible social impact and potential for business success:

At ITU Telecom World 2013 in Bangkok, the Young Innovators’ Competition winners will take part in an accelerator programme to take their projects to the next level via one-on-one mentorship sessions with start-up mentors and business experts, hands-on workshop training, peer mentoring from the winners of the 2012 competition, and the opportunity to showcase their projects to the event’s influential audience at the InnovationSpace on the showfloor. The winners will also be competing for up to USD 5,000 prize money for great concepts, and up to USD 10,000 for innovative start-ups.

‚”These are bright young minds with creative technological solutions to developmental challenges both in their communities and in the wider world,‚” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Toure. ‚”Bringing the competition winners to the forefront of the global ICT stage at ITU Telecom World connects them with the event’s influential audience, with the entrepreneurial experiences and with the success stories of their expert mentors and their peers from 2012. These are the connections and conversations that matter, with the power to make a real difference in the world.‚”

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