We are very proud to announce that 8 out of 9 innovations reached their crowdfunding target! Based on this taget , these 8 innovations received matching funding of €2000 each to further develop their innovative ideas.

Close the Gap’s Head of Operations, Inge Knapen, was there: "What an inspiration to find so many talented women in technology that are willing to put themselves out there and create these innovative solutions for the social challenges their society is facing. I feel very honored to be part of their journey".

And the winner is....

During this final event, a pitch competition was organized. The winner of this pitch was mSCAN (Mobile Scan Solutions Uganda Limited). They developed low cost mobile ultrasound devices that seek to reduce maternal mortality by early detection of risk factors and easy accessibility to affordable ultrasound services. Phyllis, the founder of mscan, is a radiologist herself and she saw in the rural areas what early detection of certain issues in pregnancy could mean in terms of saving lives of babies and mothers.

Other finalists are ....

Brandsoft. This Ugandan innovation trains women business owners in using digital tools for business growth. Their main focuses are Digital Marketing, Digital Accounting and Online Business registration.

Yaaka Digital network. This innovation designed a digital network with which learners are able to digitally access relevant Uganda curriculum academic content offline.

Coding in Heels. It is a team-work and project-based coding school providing free coding skills to women across Uganda.

mDex. mDex is a smartphone based, low cost and reusable screening tool aimed at increasing access to Sickle cell Diagnostic services in low resourced areas.

SafePal. They want to contribute to confidential reporting of sexual violence cases and facilitate survivors’ linkage to the nearest service providers for integrated support.

Uganda is Vivid Hire. Their goal is to reduce women unemployment by connecting women to digital work so they can work and take care of their families at the same time.

Entambula Yo. This is a mobile application that generates a digital address (which is navigable and accessible) for a given user (business or personal residence) and maps this generated address to a physical location.

Ask Without Shame. They provide emergency sex education via mobile technology to the Ugandan youth through an app and Hotline.

The jury consisted of:

• Inge Knapen of Close the Gap
• Aretha Kebirungi of Andela
• Björn Macauter of Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs
• Raghav Bhola from BID Network
• Inez van Oord from Truvalu