From 30 January to 1 February, a Garage48 “hackathon” took place in Ramallah, the West Bank – the first time for the event to take place in the Middle East.
Garage48 hackathon is an event where computer programmers and others in the field of software development – like graphic designers, interface designers and project managers – collaborate intensively on software projects within 48 hours over the weekend. The aim of the event is to set up working firms by the end of the weekend.
After demonstrating their products to a jury on 1 February, TendeRFQ.com, a platform for tender requesters and suppliers, was declared the winner. Co-op Delivery, an idea to let local businesses handle the deliveries addressed to people who are not home at the time of the delivery, came in as the first runner-up. The third runner-up was Handi – an allocation-based application that aims to benefit customers by guiding them to the nearest available location that answers their request.
Alongside with Estonian and Latvian mentors – Ragnar Sass from Pipedrive and Krists Avots and Maret Kruve from Garage48 – the participants were advised by local entrepreneurs, including from the Leaders Organisation, Birzeit University’s College of Business and Economics, Arabreneur and others.
Garage48 event series started in Estonia in April 2010 and have since expanded to other countries in Northern Europe, and even Africa. This was the first time for the event to take place in the Middle East.
Teams and their ideas
- EquiPal – Introducing therapy for people with special needs. It will create a community where they can take part in activities that are good for them physically and emotionally.
- Shoopy – Social marketplace.
- Online Doctors – Making communications between doctors. Patients can make appointments with doctors, doctors can publish medical reports, and in addition to the website it includes adverts on new medicines.
- CoopDeliver (runner-up) – Not home to receive your packages? Let a local business handle it.
- Handi (second runner-up) – Allocation-based application that aims to benefit customers by guiding them to the nearest available location that answers their request. The application should allow users to identify vendors and service providers ranked by distance.
- LinkAge – A simple video conferencing tool for the technologically challenged and those who wish to reach them.
- Photooz – A website for photographers to sell their photos with a good price and to share their photos for the whole world.
- Khzane – A platform that connects customers with their favourite brands and tailored outfits.
- TendeRFQ (winner) – A platform for tender requesters and suppliers.
