Liberia: Woman led team Wins Lonestar Cell MTN’s Inaugural Mobile Money Hackathon

CABE-Tech, MyWaste, and Sogital Lab have won the Lonestar Cell MTN Mobile Money Hackathon.    

First place winner, CABE-Tech developed the H-Doc application to help individuals and organizations access and manage their health information in one centralized platform, reducing the need for multiple appointments, waiting in line, and manual record-keeping.  

CABE-Tech CEO and the only woman in the Hackathon competition, 25-year-old Estella Suwon, said she encouraged her teammate, Mark A. Gbalazeh,  to develop a healthcare management app after reading about it. 

“It’s a very serious problem.  It’s affecting everyone,” she said. 

They agreed to undertake the initiative, created H-Doc, and entered the Hackathon. 

“The competition was high. We walked out with the prize. Winning the US$5K and the five routers will enable us to make my dreams come true and bring H-Doc to the market,” said the United Methodist University Chemistry and Biology major. 

Ms. Suwon said she felt scared and embarrassed when she saw she was the only woman in the competition. 

“Then, I took it as an inspiration and used that to motivate myself,” she said.

That inspiration and teamwork led them to the Hackathon’s winner’s circle. 

Second place winner, MyWaste, created an online waste management application that streamlines the trash pickup processes, reducing costs and resources for garbage collection companies and providing customers (individuals, homes, schools, and hospitals) easy and convenient way to manage waste collection. 

Third place winner, Sogital Lab developed the Quick Moko instant loan web and mobile app to give registered users credit to pay emergency medical bills. 

MyWaste received USD3,500, 2 MiFis, and three routers. Sogital Lab won USD 2,500, 2 MiFis, and two routers. 

“We expect these winners will use the funds to launch their businesses and take their digital solutions to the next level.   We plan to continue working with them to ensure they are successful,” said Manju Konneh, Mobile Financial Services Acting Product and Services Manager and Hackathon Team Lead. 
The hackathon was organized in partnership with Mercy Corps and Kwagei Group.