By Our Reporter
Uganda Breweries Limited has announced a 3-day competitive challenge bringing together young innovators and creative thinkers to collaborate to develop unique e-commerce solutions for a fast-paced business industry dubbed the Creative hackathon.
The hackathon will be held in partnership with House of DJ’s and will seek to address the need for e-commerce solutions accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be held between 10th – 13th December 2020, and will bring together individuals and teams to create prototypes that will be appraised by a group of highly experienced mentors and judges.
Speaking about the initiative, Alvin Mbugua, UBL’s Managing Director said, “Innovation is an integral part of our DNA at Uganda Breweries as we seek to continually find disruptive ways to serve our customers better. Uganda has been ranked the most entrepreneurial country and also has one of the youngest populations in the world, with 75% below the age of 30. It is only fitting that we leverage fast thinking young creative minds to develop solutions to the challenges facing the entire business industry.”
The teams with the winning creative ideas will receive prizes including UGX 10 million for the best innovation, a six-month mentorship with UBL and the opportunity for the winning project to be funded or executed.
“Consumer behaviour has undergone a fundamental shift following the digital revolution. Uganda’s internet penetration according to the UCC’s communication sector report 2019 stands at 37.9% with over 23 million internet users. This has been boosted by the penetration of mobile phones in the country which stands at over 20 million subscribers. As such, companies and businesses today need to have a firm grasp on how to utilize the digital universe to maximize their brand awareness and impact.” Mbugua added.
“It’s hard to ignore the shift in both businesses and consumer behaviour as a result of the pandemic. The challenge before us now is how we can foster an environment that encourages innovative options for businesses to enable them to reach the final consumer in a safe, cost-effective and sustainable way.” Said Roy Ronald Tumwizere, General Manager, House of DJs.
The Creative Hackathon will be mentored by a team of experienced industry experts and business leaders including James Byaruhanga, General Manager of Raxio Data Center, Isabel Odida, Director at Fontes Foundation Uganda, Jackie Namara Rukare, an Independent Management consultant, Ham Namakajjo, co-founder at Fezah and Rita Ngenzi, the Justice Accelerator Head Uganda for the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law.