Meet The Winners of the HCT-Wharton Innovation Tournament 2021
Early this May, three forward-thinking companies from the Middle
East and North Africa took home the top prizes at the HCT-Wharton
Innovation Tournament 2021.
Although the tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with
the Higher College of Technology in the UAE and the Wharton
School’s journal Arabic Knowledge@Wharton, the tournament received
over 200 submissions from around the world, including those from
India, Pakistan and Europe. Entrants ranged from working
professionals to college students; one finalist was a high school
student!
The innovations, which were designed to respond to society’s needs,
were scored on a scale of 1-5 (worst to best), on the following
criteria:
- Need: How significant is the need identified by the submitter?
- Solution: How good is the solution proposed by the submitter?
- Novelty: How interesting or novel is the solution?
- Implementation: To what extent has the submitter implemented the innovation and resolved the major uncertainty associated with it?
- Overall score: The overall assessment of the innovation.
The winners of the 2013 HCT-Wharton Innovation Tournament 2021 are:
- First place (AED30,000) – DiaLife (Algeria);
- Second place (AED20,000) – Madad (Egypt);
- Third place (AED15,000) – Recycle Bin (UAE);
- Fourth place (AED10,000) – SIIRD (India)
DiaLife
We have some of the highest diabetes rates per capita in the
region. The UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia are
in the top 10 countries for diabetes prevalence worldwide, and we
spend $5.5 billion on diabetes healthcare annually.
Diabetes is also a leading cause of blindness in adults (diabetic
retinopathy) and can lead to limb amputations (diabetic
neuropathy).
DiaLife allows diabetics to input blood sugar level data over
time and share it directly with their doctors on an interactive
platform. The website, which was designed with doctor input, allows
doctors to communicate with patients by posting on their
"DiaWall."
The online platform also offers a Diapedia: an encyclopedia of
information on all topics related to diabetes.
The inspiration for DiaLife came from the personal experience of
Tahar Zanouda, an engineering student from Algeria. His grandfather
had passed away from diabetes, his parents were Type 1 diabetics,
and he himself was at high risk to develop the disease.
The team of three Algerian college students—which also includes
Amine Bounoughaz and Amine Aboura—were the first team from the Arab
world to place as finalists at Microsoft's
Imagine Cup global finals in Sydney, Australia last year.
Madad
Sherif Nagui, a Wharton graduate student from Egypt,
has been obsessed with trying to find better ways to respond to
Egypt’s broad social and economic needs by empowering civil
society. To ensure that good ideas don’t lose momentum, but rather
can turn into viable initiatives, Nagui created Madad.
The social business, powered by an online platform, provides NGOs
with access to technology, strategic planning, and key data and
information, all designed to help Egypt’s thousands of underfunded
organizations secure capital.
In return, Madad, which is scheduled to launch in Ramadan, will
provide regular reports and updates on project progress,
developments, achievements and outstanding needs.
Recycle Bin
Aisha Al Shehhi and Khawla Al Mur, both 21-year old
Emirati students at Fujairah Women's College, created Recycle Bin
to make recycling more fun and to increase the uptake of this
essential ecological practice.
Producing around 5 million tons of trash a year, the UAE has some
of the highest waste generation rates, and while recycling is still
very nascent. (One company that has already tried to tackle the
issue is
WMSMI, which was launched by two Egyptian brothers).
Recycle Bin would operate like a carnival game, awarding recyclers
with valuable retail coupons for every 15 recycled plastic bottles.
Recyclers have to throw their bottle in colored slots that light up
in a four-slot machine.
SIIRD
Students Initiative for Integrated Rural Development
(SIIRD) rounded out the entries in fourth place with a
multistakeholder, sustainable development model for improving
conditions in rural villages in India. The submission, by Indian
Uday Umakant Bhardwaj, will help student volunteers find positions
within academia, private, public, and civil society sectors for the
greater good of society.