Pakistan's women-only STEM Hackathon concludes after pitting 200 teams for 48 hours

KARACHI: National Incubation Center announced results of woman-only tech competition it conducted wherein over 700 women in 200 teams participated in a Hackathon from 28 cities across Pakistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The competition of STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] Hackathon, namely ‘Built By Her’, was a coding marathon wherein only women, associated with the tech industry, participated from across the country and which the Team Elletech and Barricade won when the race was called.

In the online 48 hour-long Hackathon, conducted from 23rd to the 25th of October, the aim of the competition was to “empower young women in creating technological solutions for developmental challenges”, the press statement read.

It was organized in collaboration and partnership with the Asia Foundation while US Department of State hosted the Grand Finale of the Built By Her Hackathon.

After hearing pitches from 20 final teams, a panel of six expert judges picked out 2 winners. The panel consisted of;

Khursheed Kotwal (CEO, Asmaan International)

Sadaf Mahmood (CEO and Founder, Xiphios Innovations)

Maryam Mohiuddin (Co-Founder, Social Innovation Lab)

Cameron Thomas-Shah (Cultural Attaché, US Consulate General Karachi)

Farid Alam (Director Programs, The Asia Foundation)

Faizan Laghari (Chief Rnnr, Rnnr)

Team Barricade and Team Elletech took home a shared prize of Rs. 1.65 million in seed money (equivalent to USD 5000 for each team).

Team Barricade created an attendance management system that aimed to encourage maximum participation within classrooms while Elletech pitched their product the ElleApp, a one-stop-shop for training and facilitation of female entrepreneurs.

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Program Manager, National Incubation Center Karachi, Syed Azfar Hussain, during his welcome address lauded all the participants, mentors and judges for coming together as a collective to create a platform for young women to utilize their talent.

The Hackathon was created to empower young women in creating change within their communities and invigorate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and STEM fields. Over 200 teams made up of more than 700 participants from 28 cities across Pakistan had applied to be a part of the competition.

Sofia Shakil, Country Representative at The Asia Foundation reiterated the importance of encouraging women to participate in STEM fields and the country’s ever-growing startup ecosystem to help unlock Pakistan’s economic potential.

The top 20 teams won technology support while the top 2 will be mentored extensively in the coming weeks to scale their idea.