Employment networking app, Lynk, has become the winner of the 3rd edition of the Safaricom Appwiz Challenge. Lynk founders Adam Grunewald, Erick Obiero and Sharon Macharia took home the first prize of Ksh1.5 million (US$14,685)
With mobile app Lynk, job seekers can have access to job vacancies. For employers also, the app allows them to find, screen and book reliable workers. Lynk aims to be the go to marketplace for blue-collar jobs on-demand ranging from plumbing and electrical work to gardening, painting and car repair.
320 entries were received for the 2015 Safaricom Appwiz Challenge. This year’s edition kicked off on 20 July and participants were asked to develop and submit their ideas (within a month) in any of four categories – Customer Engagement Solutions, Safaricom Product Excellence Solutions, Mobile Convenience and Out of the Box Solutions. Out of the 320 entries, 13 finalists joined a three-month incubation programme that began in September.
The first and second runners-up were Hisa Play, a stock exchange simulation game and Mkulima, a harvest and income tracking app for farmers went home with Ksh 1 million and Ksh 500,000 respectively.
“Given that the issue of unemployment remains a source of concern for Kenya’s economy we have seen Lynk provide an innovative solution to the hundreds of thousands of young people looking for jobs in the informal sector,” says Joseph Ogutu Safaricom’s director of innovation and strategy.
“This competition clearly demonstrates the fact that Kenya has a wealth of creativity and the ability to develop relevant, homegrown technological solutions to our challenges and needs,” said Victor Kyalo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of ICT.
“This initiative by Safaricom is proof that partnership and co-creation can spur Kenya’s growth in ICT by connecting young innovators to the business community and consumers, thereby supporting innovation and creating employment,” he added.
