Back in January, Nokia laid down a challenge to innovators around the world to create a mobile solution to help improve the lives of people in the developing world. With a cool $1 million dollars on offer to help develop the winner's idea further, there were plenty of entrants. Now a winner has been decided...
After lots of entries to the Growth Economy Venture Challenge, there could only be one winner. That winner had to fend off ideas such as a device that converts walking energy into power for mobiles and lamps, an SMS platform to connect job seekers to employers and an SMS-based trustworthy voting system, among the 10 finalists in total.
Each finalist had to present their ideas in front of a Dragons Den style judging panel of Nokia business folk, investors and venture capitalists. Eventually a winner was picked - John Waibochi from Kenyan start up, Virtual City for his Mobile Distributor Solution,aiming to boost the profitability of small and micro businesses.
Speaking about his idea, Waibochi said:
"We have developed an application that enables distributors and retailers to sell in the market using the Nokia mobile phones for their sales for their deliveries, for taking orders. And we went a step further. Now we're going to help them collect their cash on the device itself. "
Deserving winner? They all would have been, we're sure. Who would you have picked? Let us know. Hit the link below at Nokia Conversations for the full list of finalists.