Nokwane- Five promising innovation teams walked away with E10,000 each after emerging victorious at
the Digital Wellness Pitch Day held at the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) on Tuesday, as MTN
Eswatini’s 21 Days of Y’ello Care initiative continued to empower youth-led solutions for healthcare
challenges.
The competition saw 19 teams pitch innovative digital health solutions designed to bridge the gap
between healthcare services and rural communities, with the top five teams sharing a total prize pool of
E50,000.
The winning teams were Nimzas Techsphere, Donor Connect, ShiftFlow, Lulama Chat Eswatini and
Mediphora. Each team received E10,000 to support the further development of their innovations.
The pitch day brought together students from local higher learning institutions, healthcare practitioners
and industry experts, who evaluated solutions aimed at improving healthcare access, efficiency and
patient outcomes.
Each team was allocated five minutes to present its concept, followed by a two-minute question-and-
answer session with judges.
Speaking during the awards ceremony, MTN Eswatini Chief Marketing Officer Meshack Maseko said the
telecommunications company was proud to create platforms that enable young innovators to showcase
their ideas.
“It is very humbling for MTN to be enabling initiatives such as this. We hope the ideas that were pitched
today do not end here but are implemented and developed into solutions that make a real impact,” he
stated.
He encouraged participants who did not secure a place among the winners not to be discouraged,
noting that success often comes from persistence rather than competition results.
“From previous experiences, some of the participants who did not finish at the top eventually became
the biggest success stories. If you did not make it today, you can still become the biggest success story.
Continue refining your ideas and turning them into initiatives that can make a difference in the country,”
he said.
Maseko said he was particularly encouraged by judges’ focus on job creation during the pitching
sessions, emphasizing the role innovation can play in addressing unemployment.
“These young minds have the potential to create opportunities not only for themselves but for many
others. Innovation and entrepreneurship are critical in tackling unemployment, and MTN will continue
supporting initiatives that nurture such talent,” he added.
One of the winning teams, Mediphora, a South African-registered digital health company that also
operates in Turkey and is exploring opportunities in Eswatini, said young innovators should think beyond
geographical boundaries.
Mediphora Chief Executive Officer Thubelihle Myeni encouraged the youth to dream big and remain
open to learning from solutions developed in other countries.
“The sky is the limit. Do not restrict yourselves to local markets only. The world is now a village. A
solution that may seem insignificant elsewhere could be exactly what Eswatini needs. Continue learning,
exploring and pursuing your ideas without fear,” he emphasized.
Discussion about this post