A Zimbabwean startup company which developed a computer application that detects cancers emerged the winner of this year’s Cyber Cybertech Africa Security and Blockchain Hackathon competition held in Kigali, Rwanda.
By Kuda Pembere
The application was developed by Clarity Technologies which comprises of four persons namely Collins Jimu and Zvikomborero Duri who are software engineers, Terry Mdiwa, a business executive and and Dr Koshesayi Madzika a lawyer.
The company bagged the first prize earning themselves US$5 000 after outwitting 120 other competitors from other countries.
In an interview, Mr Collins Jimu, a software engineer at Clarity Technologies said they were elated to be selected the winners of the hackathon.
We feel very inspired and motivated indeed,” he said.
Mr Jimu said the competition was tight as their competition was equality talented.
“The competition was hard as the competitors where very intelligent and experienced. But due to teamwork and dedication we managed to sail through,” he said.
“There was initial screening where out of 120, the number had to be trimmed to 60. From the 60, we sailed through to the top seven, then the top three . We then came out number one winning US$5000,” he said.
He added, “The adjudicators said they were impressed by our problem-solving skills and uniqueness of our solution and also its impact towards our community.”
At a time when diagnosis of cancer is unaffordable to the majority and most of the times found at a handful of facilities, Mr Jimu said their project has the ability to diagnose five most common types of cancer using artificial intelligence.
“Our goal being focused on solving problems associated to cancer in our communities. In Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole cancer screening is expensive and the facilities are few. So our solution will solve this challenge through providing a more efficient and quick solution which we aim to have deployed to every clinic and hospital nationwide,” Mr Jimu noted.
Mr Jimu bemoaned how access to diagnostic services for cancer are unaffordable and inaccessible for many.
“The diagnostics are cost in most cases and accessibility of these facilities is a bit hard. In most cases citizens have to travel to get accurate and in depth diagnosis. The issue of late diagnosis is very problematic as our most screening methods used old methods that makes then detect cancer in late stages and most diagnoses only one type of cancer. Also our communities are not well informed towards cancer screening,” the software engineer said.
He encouraged Zimbabweans to get screened early for ease of cancer treatment.
“My word is limited as late diagnosis is also heavily linked to our limited cancer screening resources as a nation It will certainly do so as once it’s done our goal is to have it on every hospital and clinic,” he said.
