Nabilah Safira
TechInAfrica – Young techpreneurs of Ghana are called to participate in The Opportunity Exposure (OpEx) Prize Competition in Accra.
Announced by The Executive Council, the competition is a result of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Institute for Scientific and Technological Information (INSTI) / Technology Development and Transfer Centre (TDTC) partnership.
“The OpEx Prize Competition aspires to empower the Ghanaian youth for national development and wealth creation through the provision of creative and innovative tech solutions that are scalable and sustainable,” CEO of Dalex Finance, Kenneth Thompson said during the launch.
The competition will support the participant projects that utilize sustainable technology and business models in the Finance, Agriculture, or Health and Education industry.
The CSIR-INSTI Makerspace will become the incubating center that supports the participants in creating and testing their prototype models as well as providing them with low cost of shared resources and expertise.
The qualification includes 18-35 years old of Ghanaians, a limit of one application per applicant, project or solution showcase, and a minimum of viable technology-based products and services.
The application is open from March 3rd to April 3rd this year.
There are 5 steps to apply for the competition according to the official website:
- Submission of application– applicant must make sure to submit the links to all required documents and videos granting access or the required permission to allow 3rd party access to the links).
- Initial Shortlisting(9th – 19th April 2021) – Applicants will be shortlisted, bringing the number to 20 people. Shortlisting will be done based on the following criteria: whether or not the applicant presented a clear and focused product and or service if the product and or service would have a social impact, has the potential to bring system change and scalable. Successful applicants will be contacted.
- Aptitude Test, Pitching & Judging(26th – 30th April 2021) – Successful applicants will be invited and allowed to pitch their products and or services to a panel of judges. Each judge on the panel will be looking out for that “X-factor” that makes the applicant’s product and or service stand out. Ten (10) applicants with the highest score at the end of the pitching session will then make it to the next round as the finalists.
- Training Exercise(3rd May – 7th May 2021) – The ten (10) successful finalists will undergo a week-long training exercise to orient and impact the necessary skills and knowledge.
- Announcement of Finalist(7th May 2021). The ten (10) will go on to receive the GHS 10,000 cash prize as well as mentorship during a six (6) months incubation period from 1st June – 30th November 2021 (subject to terms and conditions).
Visit this link to apply.
Source: Biztechafrica.com
