TV24 Desk: The fourth season of “Digital Innovation Challenge for Women 2023” has kick-started with new hope. After a successful season in 2021, this technology-based contest for women has returned to motivate women in the field of digital technology.
The contest is organized by Women in Digital in collaboration with The World Bank & UNDP Accelerator Lab, Media Partner The Daily Star.
The inauguration ceremony took place on 14th March 2023 on Tuesday at 10:00 am in KIB Complex – Krishibid Institute Bangladesh. Notable personnel was present at the inauguration ceremony. The panel of guests included Chief Guest – Mr. Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, MP, Honorable Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Bangladesh; Guest of Honor – Sabah Moyeen, Senior Social Development Specialist, The World Bank; Guest of Honor – M M Zimran Khan, Head of Exploration, UNDP Bangladesh Accelerator Lab; Sayma Rahman, Founder, and CEO at SR Ventures & Consultancy; Special guest – Suraiya Zannath, Lead Financial Management Specialist for the Governance Global Practice, The World Bank; Towhid Hossain, Secretary General, BACCO; Dr. Fahreen Hannan, Founder of Dhaka Cast; ANM Fakrul Amin Forhad,Founder of Actionist Foundation.
The guests shared their experiences and motivated the young minds.
Sabah Moyeen in her speech said, “The contestant must realize the gravity of the movement. I am looking forward to this year’s challenge.” She also spread awareness about cyber safety.
M M Zimran Khan encourages girls and women towards technology. He works with Women in Digital for 3 years. He said, “Technology is moving fast, and to match with it we have to get out of our comfort zone”.
Debanjana Saha, Winner, The National Women Hackathon 2017 gave an inspirational speech. She shared her previous journey experiences. She said, “Girls be focused on the competition, it will be a lifetime experience “.
Suraiya Zannath in her speech said, “Women are our strength, our treasure, and our pride.” She has urged female participants to work hard in this field and reduce the gender gap.
Sayma Rahman gave a very inspiring and helpful speech. She describes investment, equality, and equity. She also shared how her consultancy firm helps startups to grow.
Registration will be open till Marth 31, 202. All over Bangladesh, More than 60 participants are taking part in this contest. They already received an overwhelming 20+ projects from more than 16 universities all around the country and hoping for more than 50 projects after the registration. The shortlisted projects will go through a series of grooming sessions over a span of one month. With consequent presentation and elimination method, the contest winner will be determined. A panel of mentors will guide the shortlisted contestants to polish their budding ideas. Teams can only have up to 10% male participants to qualify as a team pushing the female contestants to take the challenge.
Achia Khaleda Nila, Founder, of Women in Digital conducted an interactive dialoguing session it the participants to break the ice and fuel their motivation for the upcoming month-long competition. Sharing her experience with the participants she mentioned how she always had a tough time with the assigned mentors.
In this contest she thus allowed the contestant to choose the mentors according to their needs. Mentors from different sectors of the industry will be available throughout the contest to help them to turn their ideas into sustainable products.
Participants will present their innovative ideas in front of the mentors and judges. The mentors and judges will select some good projects for the next round. The final selection will be made based on four criteria- innovation, impact, scalability, and readiness of the project.
The last speaker of the inauguration ceremony was MP Mr. Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury. He showed a great deal of enthusiasm for the contest and said to remove discriminatory thoughts from the curriculum, lessons like home science are being removed and the process of including girls in science education in other professions is underway, said Muhibul Hasan Naufel, the Deputy Minister of Education.
The contest will end with the award-giving ceremony on May 14, 2023. The top three teams will win a total of Tk 1,75,000. Besides, they will be provided with a product development facility. The winners will also get assistance to protect their ideas through copyright.
Woman in Digital was founded in 2013 and has been working tirelessly to create a new bunch of female leaders and entrepreneurs in the country.
