On the 26th of October 2023, Mascom hosted the first-ever Mascom Innovators Pitch Challenge. The challenge, which was the first of its kind, was part of the proceedings at the BDIH Innovation Botswana Day 2023.
The panel of judges included, firstly, Anath Raja Ram, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Botho University and Head of Deal Flow at Angel Network Botswana. Second was Nkosi Mwaba, a renowned business executive, and co-founder and CEO of Nineteen21 marketing agency. The third judge on the Panel was Resego Morakanyane, a professional with over 15 years of experience in digital transformation, digital technologies, business strategy and project management. Also present was Boitumelo Mbaakanyi, a certified chartered accountant, and project manager for the UNDP’s Sustainable Private Sector Development Project. Lastly, was Ofentse Kowa, a senior intelligent network engineer and a member of the Mascom Innovation Council.
The challenge boasted a cash prize of P50,000 for first place, P30,000 for second place, and P20,000 for third place. After receiving a total of 150 overall submissions, the competition was narrowed down to 10 participants.
Each participant had 3 minutes to pitch their ideas, followed by a 5-minute Q &A by the judges. After hearing all the pitches and deliberating, the judges came back with their results. In a shocking turn of events, a surprise fourth place winner was announced. This was Ecoanalytics, an eKYC solutions business, taking home a P15,000 cash prize. In third place was XX Group, a micro-job platform that allows for task outsourcing. The second-place prize was scooped by Retro-Space Enterprises, whose innovation was a modern hawker cubicle that doubles as an advertising board. Finally, in first place was Ked-Liphi, who stunned the crowd and the judges with their Chedza Solar Backpack, providing a portable solar energy solution.
Image source: Ked-Liphi