Telenor Velocity, in collaboration with Google Developers announced the winners of the Digital Hackfair 2.0. The 5 week application period brought in 50+ app submissions using Google technologies from 172 developers across Pakistan. The winners included Duur (1st Place), WeTailoress (2nd Place) and 5 Hazar (3rd Place), judged on visual appeal, relevancy and presentation, innovation and tech, and overall impact.
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Chief Operating Officer, Telenor Pakistan, Khurrum Ashfaque also commented on the occasion, stating, “It’s refreshing to see the full scale of hard work and dedication that has gone into each and every idea that was presented at the Digital Hackfair. We’re glad to see the potential that Pakistan upholds in creativity and ‘problem to be solved’ approach. I would like to thank Google for their partnership in setting this platform. I also congratulate the winners and runners-up whose hard work has demonstrated the importance of dedication and commitment. Our teams and all the participants are grateful to the judges and mentors for their valuable time and sound advice in refining ideas.”
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This year’s theme for the hackathon revolved around women empowerment, with an innovative focus on reshaping the face of business by eliminating stereotypes and obstacles faced by women all over Pakistan. The final round of the hackathon was judged by a corporate all-star panel of judges that included Aisha Sarwari from Coca Cola, Fatima Mazhar from Colabs, and Usman Sheikh, Saad Hamid, and Sagar Begale from Google.
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Despite women’s empowerment being at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Pakistan’s ranking for gender equality remains one of the lowest in the world. “Our country’s battle against low female education numbers is not new, but in recent years, we have seen a rapid increase in ed-tech, too. There has been hopeful development as it’s opening up previously inaccessible avenues for women who want to lead from the front”, stated Areej Khan, VP Digital, Telenor Pakistan. Consolidating the need for gender equality in the workforce, Khan added, “12 out of Pakistan’s estimated 20 million home-based workers are women, and according to UN Women, they directly contribute 65 percent of the total home-based work revenue to the economy.”
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Telenor Velocity facilitates startups in providing them scaling opportunities and exclusive access to Telenor Pakistan’s resources, like its APIs, data analytics, retail network, etc. to forge strategic partnerships in the long-run and to expand their vision and scope of possibilities. Telenor Velocity and Google would like to thank its mentors, evaluators and judges for their continuous support in helping develop this ecosystem.
