The top 10 finalists of the 2016 #Hack.Jozi Challenge have been announced, and include ideas ranging from ways for parents to reduce screen time for their children and a free pick up and drop off laundry service, to an online platform to upload or download building plans for quicker approval by local authorities.
#Hack.Jozi Challenge is a project of the City of Johannesburg and the JCSE (Joburg Centre for Software Engineering) at Wits University.
Ravi Naidoo, executive director for Economic Development for the City of Johannesburg, says they were overwhelmed not only by the number of entries to the 2016 #Hack.Jozi Challenge but also by their quality.
“The 2016 shortlist of 10 finalists is an impressive list of young people with new and innovative ideas in the digital arena,” he says. “After a rigorous process that has been playing out over the past six weeks, we now have ten superb businesses which have fought through three rounds of the competition and have been judged on the technical feasibility of their venture, scalability and the wow-factor.
“We have touched more than 100 entrepreneurs through this challenge. A demo day will be held on Friday, 13 May when all 10 techpreneurs will present their ideas that they have thrashed out with their peers and mentors during the course of the challenge,” he adds.
“We are also pleased to see that other government agencies such as the City of Cape Town and the Department of Water and Sanitation have taken a cue from the City of Joburg to embrace the digital era in their environments and encourage technology innovation as a way to address relevant problems and promote entrepreneurship.”
Feedback from participants has been positive.
Barend Craven from TimeWise says: “My  developer and I struggled for six months to solve one of the issues on our application. Professor Barry Dwolatzky of the JCSE suggested a solution in five minutes that solved our problem.”
Now, judges will have to make the decision on which aspiring business will win R1-million and two runners up which will win R350 000 each. All three will be supported by a business mentor who will guide them on how best to use the prize money and further develop their idea into a successful profitable enterprise.
The top three winners of the 2016 #HackJozi Challenge will be announced on Thursday, 19 May 2016.

The top 10 contestants
Tuta-Me – A mobile application that looks to connect tutors with students for tutoring services.
TimeWize Parental Control – A tool for parents to address screen-time issues with their children and their Android devices.
Mensch – An online marketplace where the demand for sound, pragmatic and sustainable advice by businesses is matched to the supply of high quality business experts from South Africa’s top business schools and business consultancies.
LCERT – LCERT (Low Cost Educational Robotics Toy) Kit, which includes hardware, software and activities.
Spotless – A pickup and drop-off of laundry service that ensures that clothes are cleaned and dry-cleaned to the highest standards.
Advicement – Building an online platform which aims to automate the functions of a traditional financial advisor.
DUEPROP- An integrated online due-diligence portal, available on multiple platforms and designed for all property sector stakeholders.
eSubmit – An online platform on which building plans and other related documentation can be uploaded and/or downloaded for the purposes of obtaining building approval from local authorities.
Gradrr – This system prepares and automatically marks multiple choice questions. Advanced features are being offered to educational institutions to analyse and report on the information.
TechnoVera – Smart lockers that reduce the average waiting time for patients collecting chronic medication at primary healthcare collection facilities.