As a young innovator and entrepreneur in the information technology sector, I want to use health service quality data to provide access to better healthcare services - especially to medicines - for the poorer people who generally seek care at public health facilities so that we can SAVE: save time, save money, save lives by ensuring that people get affordable medicines at their public health facilities in a timely manner.
Impact
Impact
The DLI Innovation Challenge supports local innovators, entrepreneurs, developers, and solution providers to design innovative solutions for problems associated with data gaps and ineffective use of data for decision-making in the areas of HIV/AIDs and global health, gender, and economic growth in Tanzania. We award grants to Tanzanians who have creative ideas about how to use or combine data in new ways to gain insights or empower people through access to life-changing information.
From 2016-2018, DLI hosted 5 Innovation Challenge Windows and received 1,245 applications with innovative ideas of how to use data to solve Tanzania’s challenges.. As of November 2018, we awarded 46 grants worth over USD 1.46 million under the first four challenge windows. Winners received both financial and technical assistance, including coaching, mentoring, and capacity building. DLI grantees are implementing projects in 17 districts across Tanzania.
1st Challenge Window
Health Service Data
Winners used or created data to improve access to or quality of health services and information. Successful grantees have continued scaling their products in partnership with other NGOs and government agencies.
2nd Challenge Window
DREAMS
Winners used data to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic among adolescent girls and young women, specifically supporting PEPFAR programming addressing the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS Free, Mentored, and Safe) Partnership.
3rd Challenge Window
Economic Empowerment
Grantees used data to improve employment and youth employability, with the goal to reduce vulnerability and ensure that no one is left behind in efforts to improve health (including ending the AIDS epidemic), gender equality, and eliminating poverty and hunger.
4th Challenge Window
Citizen Data
Grantees used community data to solve problems identified by ordinary citizens: substance abuse, physical/sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, and early childhood development. The community data was gathered by DLI’s sister project, Data Zetu.
Mlinde Game App
Leyla Hamis Liana
According to USAID, 17,000 girls acquire new HIV infections each year and current educational methods are insufficient. Our team will use games to educate males partners, age 15-24 years, and generate data about their behavior preferences.
Niajiri
Ekihya Limited
As a provider of an end-to-end solution for employers in the market, we plan on using data and artificial intelligence (AI) to help identify and nurture talent so that we can empower youth to find employment.
Darubini (Age Appropriate Sexuality Education) Project
Tai Tanzania
We are a youth-led organization that believes that education is the powerful tool that can help young people to fulfill their potentials. We want to use 3D animation videos to translate statistical data and sexual and reproductive health information into entertaining motion pictures that inform youth about the risks of teenage pregnancy.
Diversity and Reach
DLIIC is committed to promoting diversity among challenge applicants, including geographic and gender diversity. Through targeted outreach efforts, DLIIC conducted educational forums in 13 regions across Tanzania. During each challenge window, the proportion of females participants at these forums increased.
Regions reached through face-to-face events
% Female participants at face-to-face outreach events
Similarly, the proportion of females submitting applications increased during each challenge window. Furthermore, DLIIC used social media and radio to reach regions of the country where our team did not physically visit. As a result, we received applications from 23 regions in Tanzania across the five challenge windows. We received the largest number of applications in Challenge 3 due to a longer challenge window. While most challenge windows were open for 4-6 weeks, Challenge 3 was open for 8 weeks.
Regions from which DLIIC received applications
% Female participants on application teams
Where are winners located?
DLI winners come from 17 districts in 11 regions. While many of the grantees reside in tech hubs like Dar es Salaam and Arusha, DLI was excited to encourage and promote data-related innovation in more rural areas, such as Shinyanga and Lindi.
Challenge 1: Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Zanzibar
Challenge 2: Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Lindi, Mwanza
Challenge 3: Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar
Challenge 4: Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Morogoro
