BongoHive, in partnership with the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), Garage48 and us is hosting the second edition of the Empowering the Startup Community (ESC) Hackathon in Lusaka, Zambia, from the 14th-17th November 2022.
The first instalment of the series took place in the picturesque coastal city of Swakopmund, Namibia in November 2021. The workshop focused on understanding the startup lifecycle in the region, the common problems they stumble upon, and the areas where the startup ecosystem support organizations (ESOs) face challenges. The workshop ended with presentations on six viable solutions that could benefit ESOs across Southern Africa. Read more here.
This time around, the focus will be on further developing existing and new solutions that have been proposed by participants and turning them into working prototypes. The goal is to create prototypes that will strengthen synergies and ecosystem-driven cross-border collaboration between the ESOs in Southern Africa.
The ESC Hackathon brings together more than 30 innovation enablers from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania who will develop viable prototypes that will ultimately contribute to a stronger, smarter and more connected startup ecosystem in the region. Finally, the event is dedicated to creating new connections and strengthening the old ones between the startup ecosystem support organizations in Southern Africa.
We are truly excited for the event and look forward to outcomes.