Pretoria - Swedish Ambassador to SA Håkan Juholt will this weekend officially open tech non-profit organisation, Empire Partner Foundation’s first-ever global coding festival, which is seeking scalable healthcare solutions.
This follows a recent partnership between Empire Partner Foundation and Sweden-based Hack for Earth Foundation to host the global hackathon. The Illovo-based tech non-profit organisation recently announced the collaboration with the Hack for Earth Foundation, stating that 401 participants, 42 corporates, and 17 mentors from more than 20 countries will be part of the two-day hackathon.
The Empire Foundation and Hack for Earth foundations said the hybrid event, to be held virtually and physically, is open to developers who wish to “design” solutions for a better future.
The two foundations use hackathons to find real solutions to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals through citizen-driven innovations, encouraging them to address socio-economic issues with technology.
Mikhail Mariemuthu, senior manager at Empire Foundation, said the event would show the world that South Africans can collaborate with the rest of the world in using technology to solve the most pressing challenges.
“This is a huge honour for us to be hosting the ambassador at our global hackathon. This is an opportunity to show the world that South Africans and indeed African in general can collaborate with the rest of the world in using technology in solving the most pressing challenges of our time,” he said.
“We are extremely grateful to Hack for Earth Foundation for supporting and collaborating with Empire Partner Foundation on this important project that seeks to find healthcare solutions”.
The Empire Partner Foundation has since 2016 been supporting young tech entrepreneurs seeking digital solutions to solve societal challenges and propel them to growth. The upcoming hackathon is the 22nd to be hosted by the tech-non-profit organisation, which is growing its reach across Africa.
Hack for Earth’s secretary general Ann Molin will be in South Africa this week and will grace the event together with the Swedish ambassador.
“Connecting minds all over the world to create the future we need is imperative. To create citizen-driven innovation, inviting all who want to contribute to solving the challenges we face today starts with building relationships with like-minded organisations - like Empire Partner Foundation,” said Molin.
“Moving into COP27 in Egypt this year, and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates next year, we see Empire as a key partner organisation for connecting with the entire African continent.”
In February, Empire Partner Foundation hosted more than 100 young and budding software developers over two days in its ambitious bid to digitise farming and empower the youth.
The organisation hosted a hackathon in Illovo over two days, where it hosted the budding software developers.
IOL