Team Kijani wins Most Innovative Solution Award at National Sanitation Hackathon

A team of first-year students from Ashesi University has been honoured for developing the most innovative solution at Ghana’s maiden Sanitation Hackathon, a national competition organised by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources with support from the World Bank.

Team Kijani — made up of Steve Ayivi-Donkor ‘22, Esther Dzifa ‘22, Priscilla Oduro Kwarteng ‘22 and Lesley Lartey ‘21 — received the special award for Most Innovative Solution at the close of the three-day competition, held from November 17 to November 19, 2018, at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

The hackathon, themed “Managing Waste Through Hacking,” drew 300 applications nationwide, from which 35 teams were shortlisted for the final stage. Participants were tasked with designing mobile applications and digital tools to help tackle Ghana’s sanitation and waste management challenges.

While the top prize of US$5,000 went to the team behind the Nsuo app, judged the most viable and scalable solution overall, organisers also recognised teams that stood out for creativity and commitment through special category awards. Alongside Team Kijani’s Most Innovative Solution award, Smart Team was recognised for the Most Promising Solution and Sani-GH Team for Good Teamwork, with each receiving a tablet.

The judging panel was chaired by Regina Honu, Chief Executive Officer of Soronko Academy, who commended all the participating teams for the quality of ideas presented and urged them to keep working on solutions to the country’s sanitation problems.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Sanitation, Mr Anthony Mensah, praised the contestants for their dedication and innovativeness, noting that the ministry would carefully review the ideas put forward by all the teams as part of its broader push to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.