Uganda’s biggest teleco MTN on Wednesday awarded the Innovator of the Year prize of $3,000 and a plaque to David Gonahasa.
The MTN Innovation Awards 2017 at a gala dinner on hosted at the Kampala Serena Hotel had nine innovations recognized, each walking away with $3,000 and a plaque. They selected by a panel of judges from a nominee list of 45 highly recommended applications
Mr. Gonahasa is the entrepreneur behind Roundbob which helps users access and afford travel both domestic and international. By providing a unique travel wallet, users are able to put aside funds for travel up to 12 months in advance. The platform uses proprietary technology to facilitate the booking process with multiple international contracts that allow for varied inventory. The Ugandan market and middle class, in particular, continue to grow, Travel continues to be one of the most desired products for business, health, religion, education and so much more. Travel, however, is very expensive. Roundbob is making travel a reality, providing the market the right information and helping them access travel.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Olivier Prentout, the Chief Marketing Officer noted that the overwhelming number of entries, over 200, indicated how Uganda was indeed an innovative country.
This year’s Awards took place on the same day that the government commissioned the construction of a government-owned innovations hub.
Other winners of the night included Evelyn Namara the brain behind the M – Voucher app named Outstanding Woman in Innovation, Qwicart, app aggregates commodities from different supermarkets giving the user an option to select the preferred shopping location winning Best SME Application and MamboPay, an app tackles payments using purpose-bound digital coupons as well as cards taking the bragging rights of Best Financial Services Application among others.
