Today marks day 4 of the Zimbabwe national lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. People are now gradually settling into the new reality that will be in session for the next couple of weeks. As at this morning, the total number of confirmed cases globally now stands at 938 348 cases. 1007 new cases alone have been confirmed today. 47 286 have since passed on due to the pandemic – that is 5.04% of the confirmed cases. Of those that have died, 57 died today. Roughly 20.82% have recovered i.e. 195 371 people. Zimbabwe has had 8 confirmed cases and one death so far. These are figures as at around 10 am earlier this morning.
The Need For Collective Efforts To Tackle The Pandemic
All across the world, there have been many initiatives rolled out to tackle COVID-19. Zimbabwe is no exception as we have seen individuals, businesses and companies coming together to intervene. There is no question as to the increased use of digital platforms or frameworks in today’s world. Fostering digital innovations is a noble cause and more so now with this COVID-19 digital solutions are most potent. It is with that in mind that I have seen it fit to share with you a particular call for proposals.
A Call For Proposals By Smart Africa
Smart Africa has taken it upon themselves to address the COVID-19 situation on the African continent. Their thrust is to foster digital health services projects that will expedite and augment governments’ response in light of the pandemic. What is the whole point of this call for proposals?
The call for proposals is for businesses or companies that wield the capacity to address 5 key areas. One, to evaluate individual risks and guide decision-making. Two, to assist people on the continent to find nearby trial sites. Three, to avail reliable updates and alerts from public health authorities. Four, handling of community state reports and the final key area being to monitor and report on transmissions. So how is the selection process going to be conducted?
Selection Process
This shall be done in two phases. The first phase will entail short-listing an entity based on the relevance of the project to tackle the pandemic’s outbreak. This will happen after an assessment of the concept note submitted would have been made. This assessment will also be to look at the reliability of the solution for a speedy scalability plan. Respective African states will be asked to cite whether they are interested and to cite their requests and feedback.
The second phase will involve selecting 1 to 3 projects from the shortlist. That selection will be premised on looking at team experience and proven capacity to implement the project. Smart Africa will avail funds to the project that ultimately gets to be chosen. They will also facilitate access to other funding or investment sources for shortlisted projects.
Important Information
One of the biggest benefits is that you will get access to funds to develop your startup. This is an initiative that is open to all Africans and all regions on the continent are eligible. As for the application process here is how it will be:
You complete an electronic copy application and you email it to covid19@smartafrica.org. Be advised that the email must be titled as follows: “TBD”: Digital Solutions for Governments to Tackle the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic in Africa”. The deadline is 6 April 2020 at 5 pm.
If you feel that this is for you then do not let the opportunity pass you by. We have so many enterprises out there that I believe have the capacity to really make an impact in this regard. To make and submit your application you can kindly click here.
