DOT 2011 Innovation Fest

First Place Winners

Category 1: Grow Your Business: The Construction of Water Collecting Tanks and Houses from Waste Water Bottles

Innovator: Sharon Munyazikwiye, DOT Rwanda Intern

Sharon's innovation deals with the recycling and reuse of plastic water bottles in Rwanda. Sharon proposes to recycle used plastic bottles as construction bricks for houses and water collection tanks. The project, which uses existing technology that will be newly implemented in Rwanda, will help to reduce extreme poverty, create jobs, ensure environmental sustainability, and increase access to safe drinking water. Sharon's well-researched and very complete final proposal was ranked highly by our judges for market feasibility, creativity, quality, clarity, and proposal completeness.

As first place winner in the Grow Your Business category, Sharon Munyazikwiye has won a mentoring session and scholarship to a business management certificate course.

Category 2: Grow Your Ideas: Multiseat Computing Labs in Rwanda Schools

Innovator: Jean Claude Ndayambaje, DOT Rwanda Staff

Jean Claude proposes to introduce Virtual Desktops to schools throughout Rwanda, allowing for technology learning centres that will seat multiple students while using a single CPU. A current challenge in Rwanda is the limited number of computers that can be supported by the power grid in each school, the costliness of new computers, and the lack of technology education among youth that results from these limitations. Jean Claude has proposed to roll out Virtual Desktops which will allow for up to 15 computers to operate using one CPU, reducing electricity use by 75%, and giving students one-on-one experience with a computer. Jean Claude's extremely well-researched proposal was ranked highly by the judges for originality, quality, completeness, and feasibility.

As first place winner in the Grow Your Ideas category, Jean Claude Ndayambaje has won a mentoring session and scholarship to a business plan writing certificate course.

Category 3: Mobile Innovations: Dawa Runu, Mobile Meds

Innovator: Angela Mjomba, DOT Kenya Intern

Angela's innovation proposes to create a mobile service that will allow Kenyans to send a prescription via SMS text messaging to a specific number that will return, via text message, the legal local suppliers of the medicine. A current challenge faced by Kenyans is the prevalence of fake and counterfeit medicine that is sold cheaply by authentic-looking retailers. Angela proposes to use the GPS ability of most mobile phones to send coordinates and prescriptions to a central system that will return the locations of the nearest suppliers registered by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Kenya. Angela's innovative proposal was ranked highly by the judges for originality, creativity, and feasibility.

As first place winner in the Mobile Innovations category, Angela Mjomba has won a mentoring session and a scholarship to a project management certificate course.

Second Place Winners

Category 1: Grow Your Business: Kigali Restaurant Service Directory

Innovator: Alex Mwesigye, DOT Rwanda Staff

Alex's innovation proposes to develop a comprehensive online directory of small and medium restaurants in Kigali, Rwanda. Despite increasing popularity as a tourist destination, resources for tourists and visitors in Kigali are limited. Alex has proposed to create the first comprehensive listing of restaurants in the city, and offer businesses exposure to the tourist market. Alex's proposal was ranked highly by our judges for feasibility, quality, and creativity.

As second place winner in the Grow Your Business category, Alex Mwesigye has won a scholarship to a business management certificate course and a written resource for business model creation.

Category 2: Grow Your Ideas: Encourage and Facilitate Citizen Loans

Innovator: Maurice Habimfura, DOT Rwanda Intern

Maurice proposes to establish an association that will help Rwandans access micro-financing opportunities for their small businesses. While many people in Rwanda are starting entrepreneurial activities and creating their own jobs as a solution to economic challenges, most micro-finance organizations and money lenders in Rwanda require applicants to apply for funds as cooperative organizations, and rarely lend to individuals. Maurice's innovation is an association that will help citizens access loans by facilitating the creation of cooperatives and pairing people with similar goals who can then collaborate to receive a loan. Maurice's proposal was ranked highly by our judges for originality, feasibility, and creativity.

As second place winner in the Grow Your Ideas category, Maurice Habimfura has won a scholarship to a business plan writing course and a written resource for business model creation.

Category 3: Mobile Innovations: Handheld Phones for Surveys and Field Reporting

Innovators: Jean Claude Ndayambaje, DOT Rwanda Staff, and Diane Uwase, DOT Rwanda Intern

Jean Claude and Diane's innovation proposes to provide students, NGOs, and Government Institutions access to handheld GPS-enabled phones for surveys and research. Jean Claude and Diane have noted that for students conducting research, NGOs doing surveys, and government organizations completing census', using mobile phone technology and handheld devices is far superior to paper-based surveys; however, the cost of the devices is prohibitive. This team of innovators has proposed to rent survey devices to interested organizations and individuals. Jean Claude and Diane's proposal was ranked highly by our judges for originality and creativity.

As second place winners in the Mobile Innovations category, Jean Claude Ndayambaje and Diane Uwase have won scholarships to a project management certificate course and a written resource for business model creation.

Third Place Winners

Category 1: Grow Your Business: Birwa Batutsi Tourism Project

Innovator: Hormisdas Ndagijimana, DOT Rwanda Intern

Hormisdas' innovation proposes to open up the Rwandan island of Birwa Batutsi to tourism by establishing a regular transportation line between the island and the mainland via the purchasing and operation of a boat; long-term goals will be to provide the island access to a fresh water supply, and establish a centre for the promotion of local culture. The Island of Birwa Batutsi in Rwanda is very isolated, with only basic facilities and services and no direct connection to the mainland. The 375 residents of Birwa Batutsi are regularly challenged by water-borne illnesses, a lack of essential services, and a lack of income-generating opportunities. By establishing a regular boat transportation service, Hormisdas hopes to open the island to greater economic and social opportunities through tourism. Hormisdas' innovation was ranked highly by our judges for feasibility, creativity, and originality.

As third place winner in the Grow Your Business category, Hormisdas Ndagijimana has won a scholarship to a business management certificate course.

Category 2: Grow Your Ideas: Milk Marketing and Distribution

Innovator: Winnie Wangulu, DOT Kenya Intern

Winnie has proposed to introduce a milk transportation and storage system that will allow dairy farmers in Kenya to increase their productivity, cut losses, and expand local markets. As a student in the Rift Valley province of Kenya, Winnie saw that dairy farming was the major source of livelihood, and noted that farmers often incurred losses during the rainy season when milk is overproduced and markets aren't able to sustain the demand. Winnie's innovation proposes to establish locally-operated cooperatives of farmers who will co-own a chilling plant and storage facilities. Winnie's very well-researched proposal was ranked highly by our judges for completeness, creativity, and quality.

As third place winner in the Grow Your Ideas category, Winnie Wangulu has won a scholarship to a business plan writing certificate course.

Category 3: Mobile Innovations: Utopia Mobile App

Innovator: Nathnael Gossaye, Ethiopia

Nathnael has created a customizable smartphone application called Utopia meant for tourists and visitors to any country; the app provides basic information about a country or city, as well as phrases, events, and business listings. In Ethiopia and many other East African countries, resources for tourists are limited. Nathnael has built an app that provides tourists in Ethiopia a broad range of useful information; the app can also be customized to provide information about other countries and cities. Nathnael's innovation was ranked highly by our judges for feasibility, quality, and creativity.

As third place winner in the Mobile Innovations category, Nathnael Gossaye has won a scholarship to a project management certificate course.

About the Festival

The DOT Innovation Fest is a part of Digital Opportunity Trust's series of creativity festivals that engage and showcase the talents of youth living and working in developing economies around the globe.

The DOT Innovation Fest features innovative ideas from global youth with an emphasis on ideas with potential for social, educational, and/or economic impact and job creation. The competition encourages international collaboration and community building.

Winners will be announced on December 13, 2011!

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