Singularity University Launches Second Global Impact Challenge (GIC) in Southern Africa

Published: Tuesday, March 28, 2017

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Singularity University (SU), a global community with a mission to educate, inspire, and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity`s greatest challenges, is collaborating with Man Made Media to launch a Global Impact Challenge (GIC) in Southern Africa.

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The Global Impact Challenge is an open call to innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, and technologists to foster moonshot innovations and startups that positively impact the lives of people living in Southern Africa.

Singularity University (SU), a global community with a mission to educate, inspire, and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity's greatest challenges, is collaborating with Man Made Media to launch a Global Impact Challenge (GIC) in Southern Africa.

Singularity University Launches Second Global Impact Challenge (GIC) in Southern Africa

Singularity University (SU), a global community with a mission to educate, inspire, and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity's greatest challenges, is collaborating with Man Made Media to launch a Global Impact Challenge (GIC) in Southern Africa. This challenge is an open call to innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, and technologists to foster moonshot innovations and startups that positively impact the lives of people living in Southern Africa, with an ability to scale and impact a billion people globally within 10 years. Candidates have until April 10 to apply for the GIC.

Rob Nail, CEO of Singularity University, explains, “Thanks to the generous sponsorship from Mann Made Media, we are able to make this GIC in Southern Africa a reality. Our goal in holding a Southern African GIC is to identify a diverse and talented group of innovators in the region who can put forth creative solutions to long-standing problems. Once applications are reviewed, we look forward to welcoming the winners to our 9-week Global Solutions Program at Singularity University, where we can provide a broad, cross-disciplinary understanding of disruptive technologies and empower participants with the tools, knowledge, skills and mindset needed to deliver real humanitarian impact at multiple levels.”

The SingularityU Southern Africa Global Impact Challenge is open to all residents and citizens over the age of 21 from: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“This year, we are looking for talented women and men who have the skills and passion to develop and launch a startup company around a moonshot idea that addresses climate change, although we will also accept outstanding applicants who have other areas of expertise or choose to innovate in other fields,” said Regina Njima, Director of GICs at Singularity University. “We selected the climate change theme because it has consequences for every industry, geographic region, and way of life.”

Winner(s) of the GIC will receive a full sponsorship to attend SU’s Global Solutions Program (GSP) in Silicon Valley, where they are provided with SU’s core curriculum on exponential thinking, technologies, and leadership, as well as access to SU’s extensive global network of alumni and participating companies to further develop and commercialize their innovations. Finalists benefit from the challenge by having access to a cadre of expert mentors and advisors from SU to engage with them in the startup phase of their projects.

The deadline to apply is April 10, and the winner will be selected on May 9, 2017, by a panel of judges from SU and senior representatives from the business and the entrepreneurial communities in Southern Africa. Applicants are judged on their expertise and experience, as well as the sustainability, scalability, and potential impact of their proposed solutions.

Mic Mann, a 2015 alumnus of Singularity University and co-head of the SingularityU Johannesburg Chapter, who is organizing the GIC in Southern Africa said, “Global Impact Challenges are an important vehicle to create change in Southern Africa. SU is laying the foundation to build a powerful network and innovation community in Southern Africa.”

For more information, and to apply for the Global Impact Challenge in Southern Africa, visit: https://su.org/gic/2017/southernafrica/.

For more information about Singularity University GICs, visit: https://su.org/gic.

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