The Devs Without Borders Technology and Global Development Panel event brings together leaders in both the international development space and the tech scene to discuss the opportunities for Toronto’s impact on global development through technology. The panelists also share insights on the sensitivities around working with global teams remotely, and the particular challenges of creating open-source and mobile SMS solutions for NGO’s.
Finalists of the 28 hour Poverty Hackathon, the first of its kind focused on international development happening virtually between developers in Toronto and Nairobi, will demo their apps before the panel discussion and the winning hackathon team will be announced.
Founder & Director of Devs Without Borders Canada, an organization that pairs 'on-the-ground' NGOs and non-profits with talented developers abroad. From market analysis, brainstorming, development, and testing; DWB's NGO partners work to help development teams successfully launch their social aid product abroad. To hear more from Danielle, follow her on Twitter at @daniellethe.
Levi Goertz is COO of VOTO Mobile, which provides software and services to enable large scale 2-way mobile phone communication anywhere in the world, with a special focus on SMS surveys, behaviour change campaigns and call-in hotlines. Levi has done significant work in the health and governance/participation sectors in Africa, having also worked for Engineers Without Borders Canada, as both field staff and on the executive leadership team. To know more about Levi, check out his LinkedIn here.
Astrid is a Toronto obstetrician-gynecologist who is using the grant money to give health care workers in Kenya smartphones that can be programmed to alert them when a woman in their area is in labour and to provide medical advice.
Tariq founded Rumie, a non-profit organization on a mission to bring free digital educational content to the world’s underprivileged children, after seeing the success of his work to bring mobile phones to developing markets as a leapfrog innovation at a New York private equity firm. He began his career in technology investment banking with CSFB in Palo Alto. To hear more from Tariq, follow him on Twitter at @sosofancy.
Deveny is International Manager for Programming at Free the Children, and has a Masters in International Development from McGill University. She has worked internationally in Tanzania, Ecuador, Nicaragua and India. She has travelled to Kenya to see Free the Children’s sustainable development work in practice and meet with community members to better understand their own aspirations for their communities. To hear more from Tariq, follow her on Twitter at @deveneybazinet.
The iHub catalyses the growth of the Kenyan tech community by connecting people, supporting startups, and surfacing information. iHub partnered with Devs Without Borders to host developers participating in the BreakPoverty Hackathon. To learn more about iHub, visit https://www.ihub.co.ke/ .