Eight weeks and dozens of innovative ideas later, Stellenbosch Network announced the top three finalists for the fourth edition of the #IdeasForChange Challenge – an ideation competition on the hunt for new solutions to help transform Kayamandi into South Africa’s first Smart Township – last week.
Now, it is up to the people of Kayamandi, Stellenbosch and surrounds to vote for which idea they think holds the most potential to improve the quality of life of residents, and be named the winner of this year’s R30 000 prize purse.
Organised in partnership with Lunttu, Ranyaka, Stellenbosch University (SU), the Regional Innovation Support Programme and Stellenbosch Municipality, the challenge aims to discover and incubate the development of innovative ideas, business models, process flows and technology, to help transform Kayamandi into a modern hub of economic growth and activity. The winner will receive a R20 000 cash prize, with second and third place receiving R6 000 and R4 000 respectively.
Smart Kayamandi is an initiative born of Lunttu founder Wesley Diphoko, who grew up in the township and sees technology and digital skills as a catalyst to transform the township into inclusive micro-economy. “The idea is to integrate low- and high-tech solutions into the community to improve how people in Kayamandi access and experience everything from health care, housing, safety and security, to education, public services and civil life,” he explained.
“In doing so the organisation aims to establish Kayamandi as an innovation lab for townships and rural areas across the African continent.”
In support of this goal, this edition of the #IdeasForChange Challenge received 44 applications from locals. The competition started with a workshop hosted by Lunttu at the Amazink Theatre in Kayamandi to explain the vision of a Smart Kayamandi. Proposals were evaluated by Stellenbosch Network’s team of judges, which in addition to Diphoko, included Sunita Kalan (Department of Science & Innovation), Johan Olivier (Ranyaka); Lesley van Gensen (Stellenbosch Municipality); Dr Leslie van Rooi (SU) and Yeki Mosomothane, a born-and-bred local from Kayamandi who also serves as a multicultural education specialist at SU. After weeks of deliberation, the panel of judges determined the top three finalists.
First up are two PhD candidates at SU, agronomist Tinobokashe Ncube and geoinformations specialist Onai Mtengwa, who secured their spot in the finals thanks to their idea of using mobile technology to support the ability of households to grow more successful kitchen gardens. “Home-grown fruit and vegetables are a popular alternative for families based in townships who, due to lower income levels, are more susceptible to rising food prices,” they explained.
“At the same time, as innovation plays an increasingly important role in promoting farming outcomes across the globe, low-income households simply lack the resources to access drone, satellite and GPS technology.”
In response, the pair are aiming to use the prize money to build an all-inclusive mobile platform that will give households access to agricultural and nutritional knowledge and services.
A SU mechatronic engineering student and frequent volunteer at Stellenbosch Hospital, Retief Louw, is the competition’s second finalist. Having seen first-hand how Kayamandi residents are forced to queue outside the clinic for hours, he has developed New-Queue, a WhatsApp-based chatbot that automates the scheduling of clinical appointments in a move to make queuing for daily check-ups a thing of the past.
In addition to streamlining the provision of health care the digital service will collect and record patient information, allowing staff to provide more holistic care. With a prototype platform already built, Louw plans to use the prize money to refine the service and integrate the use of Chat GPT, to enable residents to share their symptoms via chat and get instant diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
Finally, lecturer in SU’s Department of Logistics, Chuma Lalendle, and graphic design student at the AAA School of Advertising, Sbahle Mgijima, are the third finalists of the competition. Together they are on a mission to make recycling a more sustainable and profitable industry for locals.
The duo hopes to achieve this by developing a “smart trolley” for waste pickers. Their idea is based on two innovations: a fit-for-purpose cart specially designed to make it easier for collectors to handle, store and transport waste. This will then be supplemented with a digital application for households, who will use the platform to manage their recycling and inform waste pickers when it is ready for collection. Should they win the prize money, the team hopes to tackle the growing waste problem in Kayamandi and ensure that less recyclable materials end up in landfills.
Reflecting on this year’s finalists, Mosomothane, said: “We were blown away by the quality of innovation that’s brewing in our town. It was especially exciting to see so many ideas emerge from SU students who also living in Kayamandi, and to see that they are eager to use their newly acquired knowledge and skills to improve the well-being of their community.
“To reimagine Stellenbosch truly we need to pay more attention to these ideas and ensure they too have access to all the resources at our disposal. By supporting innovation across the entire region we take a step towards ensuring all residents – those living in Kayamandi, Dalsig and beyond – have equal access to the fundamental things they need to enjoy a good quality of life.”
With the top three finalists announced, residents of Kayamandi, Stellenbosch and surrounds have until next Tuesday (21 February) to vote for whoever they think should be crowned winner of this year’s #IdeasForChange Challenge. You can cast your vote online at bit.ly/3RVVAtE.
