Fragen und Antworten

COVID-19 has placed a heavy burden on developing countries causing enormous social and economic consequences. With the #smartdevelopmenthack the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is calling for innovative digital solutions to tackle the challenges caused by the coronavirus outbreak in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of the hackathon is to build on existing digital solutions and to refine and scale them with partners – across countries and sectors. The hackathon is intended to adapt proven solutions locally and to promote innovations that provide digital help directly on the spot.

Solution Providers and Implementation Partners can register on the website already from 20 April 2020 onwards. The Hackathon will take place from 14th -15th May 2020. On 20 May 2020 the winning projects will be selected and announced by the jury.  

We are happy about a broad participation. It is important that the developed solutions are connectable and quickly realisable. The following institutions from Germany and the partner countries are elegible to participate:

• Start-ups
• Companies
• NGOs, foundations and other civil society organisations
• Tech hubs, clubs, associations
• Organisations and projects of international development cooperation
• Public and government institutions

The exact conditions of participation can be found in the respective sections Solution Provider and Implementation Partner.  

All activities of the hackathon will take place online. Teams will work together in virtual workspaces, supported by a group of experienced facilitators. At the end of the two-day hackathon, each team will have to present a project proposal in the form of a pitch deck and videos.     

No, we are looking for interested people and entities with creative ideas (digital solution providers) as well as interested organisations to support these ideas with their local expertise. You can find more information in the sections Solution Providers and Implementing Partners.

Solution Providers submit a description of their solution online. Implementing Partners can choose a solution that fits their area of interest and contact the Solution Provider to propose a match. The match is made when both parties agree. The team can be complemented by persons who can make a valuable contribution to the development of the solution. However, it is possible to name your partner of choice during the registration process. For that, both parties have to be registered.

Yes. You don’t need match-making, because you already found a digital solution provider – but you lack funding and technical support for implementation? You can still register for #SmartDevelopmentHack and compete in the hackathon. Simply ask your partner to register as a solution provider and follow the normal process to submit a “Partnership suggestion”. 

As soon as Solution Providers and Implementing Partners agreed on their match, the Implementing Partner can submit a partnership suggestion form. After a pre-selection process, the matches will be informed on 12th May if they are part of the hackathon.

The cooperation throughout the hackathon will take place on https://smartdevelopmenthack.hype.de. Further details regarding the procedure will be circulated shortly.

The official language of the hackathon is English. All contributions (solutions, partnership suggestions and project proposals) are requested to be in English.

The winning projects will be selected by a jury of experts. Strong focus will lie on the effectiveness and scalability of the projects. Details regarding the selection process and a criteria catalogue will be published shortly.

We are happy about a broad participation. It is important that the developed solutions are connectable and quickly realisable. The following institutions can participate:

• Start-ups
• Companies
• NGOs, foundations and civil society organisations
• Clubs, associations and hubs
• Public and government institutions
• Organisations and projects of international development cooperation

We are looking for innovative digital solutions in Africa, Asia and Latin America that help to tackle the challenges caused by the coronavirus outbreak. These digital solutions and local innovations can be placed in the fields of work and employment, equal opportunities, good governance and human rights and data for development. Our goal is to build on existing digital solutions and to refine and scale them with partners. You can provide solutions in various stages. Ideally, your solution has been tested already and is ready to be implemented.

In principle, competition is open to all stages of development. However, it is important that the digital solution offered can be implemented and scaled quickly and effectively.

Please apply only once per digital solution, stating your organisation. If you have been selected for the Hackathon, more than one member of your team may participate in the Hackathon.

Yes, the hackathon team will support you in the match-making process and the two-day hackathon event.

The winning teams will be supported financially and with technical expertise in order to scale their solutions in local contexts. By submitting a solution, you can help people worldwide who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Your solution is displayed publicly on our website. Everyone who visits the website can see your solution and is able to contact you directly. In order to enable knowledge transfer and networking, you are asked to submit your or your institution’s e-mail address along with a description of your solution.

Implementing organisations of the development cooperation sector qualify as Implementation Partners in the hackathon. As the aim of the hackathon is to develop digital solutions that can be deployed rapidly in the partner countries, it would be helpful, if the Implementation Partners had access to local structures and projects.

As an Implementation Partner you register on the #smartdevelopmenthack website and scan the provided solutions. If you find a solution that fits the needs in your partner country, and you would like to refine in the hackathon, you can make a partnership suggestion till 30 April. If the match is confirmed by the Solution Provider, you automatically apply for the participation in the hackathon. After a pre-selection process you will be informed by 12 May, if your application was successful. You and your partner can then join the hackathon on 14 – 15 May 2020. As an Implementation Partner your local expertise and implementation knowledge is needed to refine the digital solutions jointly with the solution giver. You or one of your colleagues should be able to join hackathon on 14 – 15 May 2020.

The hackathon offers the great opportunity to find innovative solutions that can help tackle the current crisis immediately. It helps you to connect with dedicated international partners and is focused on developing concrete solutions. The best projects will be offered financial support to encourage fast deployment of the solutions in the partner countries.

The whole hackathon is based on a voluntarily contribution. In joining the hackathon you are not responsible to implement the solution you choose to work with.

Next to registering as an Implementing Partner and scanning solutions you want to work with, you will participate in the two-day Hackathon on 14-15 May 2020.

• Work and Employment
• Local Innovation
• Equal Opportunities
• Good Governance & Human Rights
• Data for Development