Nicole Foundation, The Innovation Village Launch A Road Safety Hackathon Challenge

Members of Nichole Foundation and Innovation Village

Kampala, Uganda: The Nicole Foundation in partnership with the Innovation Village through the FutureLab studios have launched a road safety hackathon campaign aimed at promoting road safety through innovation and use of technology to deliver practical solutions.

Members of Nichole Foundation and Innovation Village

Globally road traffic crashes are the eighth leading cause of death. According to the Global status report on road safety 2018 by World Health Organization, road accidents claim more than 1.35 million lives each year and cause up to 50million injuries among people aged 5 – 29 years.

Speaking at the launch, Judith Karara, the Principal Safety Officer at the Ministry of Works and Transport, the statistics from road traffic crashes are alarming, from the 2020 Annual Crime report, it is abundantly clear that road safety is a significant public health concern and rapidly growing socio-economic burden in Uganda.

“What if these road traffic crashes are not “accidents” and can be completely preventable with the joint efforts of each one of us. Together, road crashes, injuries and fatalities can be preventable with proper education on road usage, strong regulatory policies and enforcement, good road infrastructure and SMART road technologies.  Let’s make our cars and the streets a safe place for our children because “no child should die or be seriously injured when talking a walk on the streets, traveling with the parents, or cycling to school” Karara emphasized.

According to Arthur Mukembo, Lead FutureLab studios at the Innovation Village, this Road Safety hackathon intends to challenge innovators and tech enthusiasts to come-up with solutions that ensure the safety of individuals on the road before they travel, when on the road as a passenger or pedestrian, and when an accident happens.

“The two-day hackathon will identify market-ready scalable tech-enable solutions that will enhance safety on the road. We hope to bring together diverse talent of technical developer, business generalist and road safety experts to envisage practical tech-enabled solutions. We believe this challenge will drive creative thinking among these young innovators through an open innovation approach and human centered design principles.”

Mukembo added, “The winners of the hackathon will be selected on: strong alignment to the Nicole Foundation’s Wheel of Offering, inventiveness of the solution, feasibility and scalability of the idea, and finally the quality and comprehensiveness of the pitch. Later, these winners will receive training to build concepts, enroll into the next cohort of Future Lab Studio’s flagship Soar program and opportunity to pitch to Angel and VC investors on completion of the Soar program.”

Solomon Rubondo, a member of the Council of Advisors of the Nicole Foundation said, the Foundation was established in commemoration of the late Nicole Blessing Ahumuza Rubondo who passed away in a fatal car accident in Kasese at the age of 16.  During her short life on earth, she exhibited significant leadership qualities characterized by friendship, empathy, passion, and compassion, aspects which inspired the birth of the Nicole Foundation whose vision is to promote safety on the road and security in the car.

“To support the organization vision, we came-up with a Wheel of Offering with eight pillars which seek to ensure road safety and guidance. These include: – Safety before you travel, when with family or relatives, when you are the driver, when you are a passenger, when an accident happens, when you travel with public transport, after the accident, and during recovery and wellness. And it is from these eight pillars that the solutions from the road safety hackathon will be developed.”

To curb the issue of road safety, we need to collaborative work with different stakeholders like innovators, young people and organizations within the transport sector to promote the use technology to end the scourge of unsafe roads in Uganda and the world at large, Rubondo emphasized.

The 2020 Annual Crime Report by Uganda Police Force shows that the country registered 12,858 road traffic crashes and 13,012 fatalities due to careless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and poor road infrastructure with the majority of these being pedestrians, motorist, cyclists, and passengers.

The Nicole Foundation is a Not-for-Profit organization that was launched in July 2021 by the family, friends, teachers, and schoolmates of the late Nicole Blessing Ahumuza Rubondo. Nicole passed away in a fatal car accident in Kasese on the 18th of January 2020 at the young age of 16. During her short life on earth, Nicole exhibited significant leadership qualities characterized by friendship, empathy, passion, and compassion that continue to inspire the work of the foundation.

The Innovation Village (TIV) is Uganda’s leading Entrepreneur Ecosystem Convener, partnering with Entrepreneur Support Organisations to support Founders, Startups, Small and Mid-size Enterprises, and Enterprises with Bringing Ideas to Life.  TIV, through the Future Lab Studio runs various programs that enable aspiring and existing Founders of Tech and Tech-enabled Startups to solidify their value proposition, validate an investable market, prove a profitable business model, and move beyond early adopters.

About Post Author