Rafiqi team wins the second round of Hackathon Egypt 2030

PepsiCo Egypt announced that the Rafiqi team won the second round of the “Hackathon Egypt 2030” competition, which was launched by the company in cooperation with RiseUp and under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the Rowad 2030 Project.

The winning team received a financial prize of 500,000 pounds from the PepsiCo Foundation, the charitable arm of the company, which will help them launch their project as entrepreneurs.
A Planning Ministry’s statement indicated that the second edition of the Egypt Hackathon 2030 aims to support pioneering ideas in the health and economic sector in Egypt, to achieve Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the United Nations sustainable development goals.
The participants focused on the strategic priorities in their projects, which include the health sectors, resilient industries, and infrastructure, to recover from the effects of the Corona economic pandemic and find innovative solutions to develop these sectors.
The statement added: This session also focused on the third, eighth, and ninth goals of the United Nations sustainable development goals, which are good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation, and infrastructure.
The finals of the competition saw a strong competition between 8 teams, including Hydropal, which provides water bottles that can track their water consumption throughout the day, and PharmaBill, which bridges the gap between pharmacies and suppliers with an integrated drug shopping app.
Among the competing projects are also: the Plantopia project, which works on landscaping the roofs and providing a smooth selling service for vegetables and fruits at the lowest prices and the fastest delivery service.
The winning project, Rafiqi, is a platform that aims to improve the quality of life for cancer fighters in Egypt.
During her speech delivered on her behalf by her assistant, Dr. Jamil Helmy, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Dr. Hala El-Said said: “We are pleased with the partnership between the government and the private sector, which contributes significantly to achieving Egypt’s Vision 2030, which aims to reach a competitive, balanced and diversified economy based on innovation and knowledge. Egypt will become a country with a balanced ecosystem that improves the quality of life for individuals by 2030.”
He added that the Egypt 2030 Hackathon is one of the fruits of cooperation between the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and PepsiCo Egypt to support youth as they are an essential pillar for the advancement of the country and access to a better future.
The Assistant Minister of Planning explained that the Egypt 2030 Hackathon is a confirmation of the government’s priority in investing in entrepreneurship represented in emerging companies and supporting small and medium enterprises, which is an integral part of the state’s strategy and development plan.
In the same context, Helmy reviewed the ministry’s efforts concerning access to pioneering education, which included the establishment of 38 technology schools and 9 technology universities, in addition to the implementation of the national program for technology incubators to be the largest umbrella for technology incubators.
He continued, “This is in addition to the establishment of the Egyptian Innovation Bank, which is the largest platform for innovation and discusses current technological challenges, and works to transform them into investment opportunities using innovative solutions and ideas.”
For her part, Dr. Ghada Khalil, Director of the Rowad 2030 Project, said that the Ministry of Planning “is always working to provide a more attractive environment for young entrepreneurs.”
She stressed the importance of the solidarity of community institutions, both private and government, to empower these young people and support start-ups that meet the needs of the state and society.
She added that the ministry launched the “Pioneers 2030” project, which includes four main axes, including education through the provision of a professional master’s in cooperation with the University of Cambridge, and also launched the “One Million Entrepreneurs” campaign, which aims to attract 50,000 new companies to be a reason for creating job opportunities for young people.
For his part, Mohamed Shelbaya, Chairman of PepsiCo Egypt, said that the Hackathon Egypt 2030 competition is in line with the “PepsiCo Positive Strategy + pep” which aims to implement the concept of sustainability by leaving a positive impact on the lives of individuals, and society and the environment.
Abdel Hamid Sharara, CEO of RiseUp, said: “We believe that our partnership with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and PepsiCo Egypt represents a great value and addition to the entrepreneurship scene in Egypt, through which we can provide guidance and support for young people to provide them with opportunities to reach innovative ideas.”
The Egypt 2030 Hackathon competition received more than 400 applications to participate, and more than 100 teams have already participated in the early stages, and they were given training workshops in various fields by more than 35 experts in the field of entrepreneurship