Two tech start-ups, Malii Fintech and Speakk have scooped the maiden Smart City Innovators Awards after developing digital applications that can improve mobility and communication in Johannesburg during the Covid-19 lockdown.
“Adopting these innovations in our systems will help us with service delivery, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which faces us today. From our side, we are quite excited to benefit from these innovations,” says Cllr Jolidee Matongo, the MMC for Finance.
Both tech enterprises are run by young boffins at the centre of pioneering digital solutions to curb the vicious spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cllr Matongo says Malii Fintech and Speakk emerged victorious following a rigorous selection process from a large pool of tech companies, which had been challenged to pioneer empirical solutions to urban challenges faced by the City in the new normal.
Competitors had been urged to incorporate leading 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions in their bids, which can enable the City to reduce vulnerability, improve food security and uphold human dignity during the Covid-19 lockdown.
One of the tech boffins has created a ChatBot, which the City plans to use for 24/7 engagement with ratepayers and residents.
“There’s much more precision with automation, especially when it comes to engagement on social media. We welcome the transformation to be implemented in the City as part of the digital transformation we have planned,” says Cllr Matongo.
The MMC notes that lockdown protocols ignited new thinking about the future of Johannesburg and its residents, that’s why the Smart City Innovators Awards were designed to cultivate sustainable technological responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both winners take home a whopping R100 000 each, which will be invested towards implementing their innovative ideas.
The Smart City Innovators Awards were held under the auspices of the City and Wits University’s tech hub, Tshimologong Precinct, a collaboration of academia, corporates, government and entrepreneurs designed to inspire digital innovation, propel entrepreneurship and grow tech skills for the knowledge economy.